Chapter 435
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 435
Chapter Title: Long-lost Descendant
Ha Mu-baek stared blankly up at the ancestral tablet on the ceiling.
He was still lying down in the same position.
His eyes remained fixed on the sword scars etched into the ceiling, refusing to budge.
Even with Ha Mu-baek's profound cultivation, he couldn't even begin to fathom the full intent contained within that single stroke.
As he lost himself in those sword scars, time slipped by unnoticed.
Yet Ha Mu-baek didn't so much as twitch.
On the contrary...
He felt himself being drawn deeper into them.
A good while passed like that.
"Ah."
He came back to his senses and sat up.
Just as his master had said, he'd found the ancestral tablet of the founding patriarch.
But nothing had changed.
What more was he supposed to do here?
As he pondered this, he glanced up at the ceiling once more.
And this time, he finally noticed it.
When he'd first spotted the tablet, he'd been so awestruck by the transcendent realm of those sword scars that he'd overlooked it.
The sword path traced around the tablet.
It resembled the Infinite Bright Wheel Heart Method yet traced a different course.
Unthinkingly, Ha Mu-baek circulated his inner energy along that sword path.
Gradually, clumps of energy began seeping out from his body.
The inner energy swirling around his entire form soon reached his eyes.
The moment Ha Mu-baek's eyes emitted a golden glow...
The ancestral tablet on the ceiling glowed gold as well.
As the two golden lights met...
Ha Mu-baek felt his mind grow hazy.
He gritted his teeth and struggled to regain his senses.
But in an instant, he blacked out.
It was over in the blink of an eye.
When he regained consciousness...
A vast grassland stretched out before Ha Mu-baek's eyes.
This was no longer the deep underground chamber of the patriarch.
"A formation..."
He knew it the moment he saw it.
This was a formation unfolding before him, not a physical translocation.
"Long-lost descendant."
At that moment, a resonant voice spoke from behind him.
Ha Mu-baek turned around.
There stood an elderly man who looked like an immortal, smiling kindly.
"Disciple Ha Mu-baek of the Infinite Sword Sect pays respects to the founding patriarch."
Ha Mu-baek clasped his hands in salute and bowed deeply.
There was no need for lengthy explanations.
The moment he laid eyes on him, instinct told him this was the founding patriarch.
"Hoho. Hohoho. Wi Ji-gun's disciple, are you?"
"Yes, I am."
Ha Mu-baek composed his startled heart and affirmed it.
This was no mere lingering will or mental image.
It was a distinct personality with clear intent and memories.
Much like...
The one he'd encountered within his own consciousness before.
Go Hu-rak.
The monster who had seized a disciple's body and lived for centuries.
"Hm?"
A glint appeared in the patriarch's eyes.
He had sensed the shift in Ha Mu-baek's thoughts.
"Oh? You've already met Manhwang?"
The patriarch examined Ha Mu-baek from head to toe, speaking in astonishment.
"Hoho. Hohohoho."
He let out a hearty laugh.
Ha Mu-baek simply watched the patriarch silently.
"What did Wi Ji-gun tell you?"
"He said that upon entering the patriarch's chamber and finding your ancestral tablet, I would learn everything."
Ha Mu-baek replied respectfully.
"Hmm."
The patriarch stroked his long white beard that reached his navel.
"I am called Infinite. Or Yeoui."
Ha Mu-baek tilted his head in confusion.
"The fragment of the primordial origin. Its abyss. That is me."
Ha Mu-baek started in surprise.
The abyss.
He already knew what that was from his encounter with Hyeonhwang.
Yet for the Infinite Sword Sect's founding patriarch to claim he was Infinite, Yeoui, and the abyss itself...
What on earth did it mean?
Ha Mu-baek couldn't comprehend it at once and fell into confusion.
"Hoho. Judging by your reaction, you've experienced the abyss before."
The patriarch, who was Infinite and Yeoui, chuckled as if amused.
"Infinite is also my true name."
The patriarch Infinite smiled faintly as he spoke.
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
Ha Mu-baek admitted honestly.
"No wonder, if you've faced the abyss. You must have felt it akin to heart demons."
Infinite nodded as if he understood.
"Very well, I'll explain slowly. Sit for now."
With a light wave of Infinite's hand, two rocks of suitable size for sitting appeared.
Infinite perched on one and beckoned Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek sat on the remaining rock.
"The primordial origin. It signifies the beginning of the world. Or perhaps the world itself. Back then, the world existed as a singular, undivided whole, so it was neither existing nor non-existing."
Infinite began his tale calmly.
"For eons immeasurable, the world remained as one. But could that truly be called a proper world? Thus, a force arose within that singular whole, opposing its unity."
"Is that Manhwang?"
Ha Mu-baek asked.
Infinite nodded.
"Indeed. Manhwang is ultimately the same existence as the primordial origin—a power rooted in perfect oneness. The primordial origin is Manhwang, and Manhwang is the primordial origin. Striving to remain as one is the primordial origin; seeking to scatter and divide is Manhwang. Their essence is ultimately one."
Ha Mu-baek focused intently on Infinite's words.
"Gaaah!"
The blood jiangshi's scream echoed through the air.
So Hwi-woong's blade cleaved it mercilessly from top to bottom.
He casually shook off his blade and sheathed it.
They were spiraling inward through the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, gradually closing in on the center.
Along the way, they had cut down countless jiangshi.
Independent of the Demon-Sealing Corps' efforts, So Hwi-woong alone had exterminated innumerable death jiangshi, poison jiangshi, and blood jiangshi.
Dam Mu-hyeon watched the scene with a composed expression.
No—he had been fighting at the vanguard alongside So Hwi-woong.
Despite his calm facade, he was inwardly shocked.
'He's grown even stronger. When did this happen...'
He could instantly sense that the Alliance Leader's realm had advanced.
"Hmm."
So Hwi-woong scanned their surroundings.
This was the result of his own handiwork.
The Hocheon Corps had lent a hand, but eight out of ten fallen jiangshi had met their end by So Hwi-woong.
He tilted his head at the sight of jiangshi bisected or torn to shreds.
He stood still for a moment, closing his eyes.
The Hocheon Corps members held their breath, vigilantly guarding the perimeter.
They knew well what this gesture signified.
After about fifteen minutes had passed...
"Hoo."
So Hwi-woong opened his eyes.
"I see. So that's what this is."
He murmured calmly.
His gaze had deepened even further.
"Let's keep moving."
With that, he pressed on into the forest of the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
The path was plotted to scour the entire forest in search of the Heaven-Destroying Jiangshi.
Any obstructing jiangshi were simply felled along the way.
As So Hwi-woong advanced, he suddenly frowned.
"Everyone, fall back."
At his grave tone, the Hocheon Corps—who were duty-bound to protect the Alliance Leader—retreated behind him instead.
"What is it?"
Dam Mu-hyeon stepped up beside So Hwi-woong and asked.
"A dark blood jiangshi."
Those ensnared by the Curse of Annihilation, losing their wits and becoming jiangshi.
Dark blood jiangshi wielded power surpassing their living prowess.
One lurked nearby, he declared.
No one else had sensed its presence yet.
But since So Hwi-woong asserted it, they cautiously advanced behind him.
After moving a short distance...
"Grrrraaawr."
They encountered the dark blood jiangshi standing in one spot, awaiting them.
It wielded a single sword.
A jiangshi with a sword.
So Hwi-woong's expression darkened upon confirming the figure.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue.
"I wondered where you'd vanished to... Turns out you've become a jiangshi here."
He spoke as if reuniting with an old acquaintance.
Dam Mu-hyeon at his side was utterly stunned.
He'd never imagined that person could have become a dark blood jiangshi in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
The former Huashan Sect master who'd vanished one day.
No, the former Huashan's Foremost Sword.
The rival of Wudang's Foremost Sword, Master Wuyan.
Plum Blossom Heaven-Filling Sword, Geum Do-wi.
He had become a dark blood jiangshi in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
"Did you know him?"
So Hwi-woong asked Dam Mu-hyeon.
"N-no, I didn't. This is my first time seeing him."
"What about Mu-baek?"
"Instructor Ha probably doesn't know either. They've never met."
So Hwi-woong nodded at Dam Mu-hyeon's response.
"You couldn't resist the temptation to grow stronger faster and strayed from the righteous path, Senior Geum. Unlike Master Wuyan."
So Hwi-woong muttered bitterly.
"Grrrk?"
The only reply was the dark blood jiangshi's low growl.
"How did this happen? The Plum Blossom Heaven-Filling Sword was said to have entered secluded cultivation toward the end of the war with the Blood Cult..."
And hadn't been seen since.
"He must have thought even he himself wouldn't fall to the Curse of Annihilation and dabbled in it. There's no other explanation."
That was it.
While Geum Do-wi was at the height of slaughtering the Blood Cult's jiangshi...
The truth of the Annihilation Cult had already spread across the land.
"Why on earth..."
"He wanted to surpass him. The Master Wuyan blocking his path."
Wudang's Foremost Sword, Master Wuyan.
Huashan and Wudang, Wudang and Huashan.
These two sects had always vied for the title of supreme sword sect among the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans.
Naturally, their foremost swordsmen, Master Wuyan and Geum Do-wi, became subjects of comparison.
The common verdict was that Master Wuyan held a slight edge.
Geum Do-wi, who had poured endless effort into surpassing that wall...
Had ultimately reached for forbidden martial arts.
That was So Hwi-woong's conjecture.
There was no other reason for Geum Do-wi to touch the Annihilation Cult.
"But how did he end up in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest..."
Shing.
So Hwi-woong drew his blade.
And answered Dam Mu-hyeon's question.
"At some point, he must have realized it. That he couldn't escape the Curse of Annihilation. Upon that realization, for the honor of Huashan, he came here alone to resist it. If he succeeded by some miracle, he'd leave and return to Huashan; if he failed, he'd remain a jiangshi of the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest."
Dam Mu-hyeon had no response to So Hwi-woong's explanation.
"Isn't that right, Senior Geum? The moment he became a dark blood jiangshi, to prevent the tragedy of slaughtering his fellow disciples and attacking his sect, he walked into this place of his own accord. He resisted and resisted until it was too late, turning fully into a jiangshi, which is why he's only now come to light. Tch."
"Grraaawr."
The dark blood jiangshi let out a guttural roar as it slowly raised its sword.
"Why didn't you shatter your own dantian? Had you done so, you wouldn't have become this cursed abomination."
So Hwi-woong assumed his stance, speaking with regret.
Geum Do-wi slowly raised his sword as well.
The starting form of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms.
Even as a dark blood jiangshi, he remembered Huashan's swordsmanship.
A dark blood jiangshi wielding Huashan sword arts.
If Huashan learned of this, it would shock them to their core.
It would tarnish Huashan's honor in the dust.
"Raaargh!"
The dark blood jiangshi lunged first.
Dark energy cloaked its blade.
It resembled sword aura, yet was far too murky to be true sword aura.
Clang!
So Hwi-woong's blade blocked Geum Do-wi's sword.
Geum Do-wi's sword moved fluidly, probing every direction.
Where fragrant plum blossoms should have bloomed in its wake...
Only foul black energy blossomed instead.
Clang! Ka-clang! Clang!
The fierce clashes of sword and blade rang out.
So Hwi-woong deflected Geum Do-wi's assaults with leisurely sweeps of his blade.
The blade winds and sword winds they generated shook the surrounding trees as if they might snap.