Chapter 483
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00483 암천향(暗天鄕) ————————————————————————=
After descending from the Sacred Tree with the Master of the Twelve Joules, I heard about the Martial Arts essence from him.
“It starts with Taiji and Wuji.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules continued.
“My martial arts philosophy stems from there. By shedding the self, I encountered the microcosm directly, and that’s when the barriers disappeared.”
“Taiji and Wuji… is that the name of a martial technique?”
“… Baek Woong, I don’t understand why you’re asking such a question. Why would one impose form onto something that has none? Accepting it as it is is the beginning.”
“……?”
I didn’t quite get it. When I tilted my head in confusion, the Master of the Twelve Joules gave a wry smile.
“Seems like it’s best not to talk about martial arts until we peel off a layer or two.”
“Was that just now a discussion on the Absolute Realm?”
“Ugh…”
The Master of the Twelve Joules groaned as if he was fed up, then said,
“You categorize this Absolute Realm too easily, but that’s just subjective interpretation. It’s merely a label people use for convenience. Those who have crossed the threshold known as the Absolute Realm vary beyond the martial streams and are endless, so it’s impossible to pin down.”
“……”
“Do not create your boundaries. That’s the path to self-destruction.”
Somehow, I felt scolded. However, knowing this came from an expert of the Absolute Realm made it hard to take emotionally. I couldn’t gauge what hidden meaning there was in those words with my current level.
‘ This is tough…’
It felt like a more immense wall was blocking me than the leap from the Peak Realm to the Absolute Realm. This might be why Lee Cheong-un passed on merely the possibility of the Seven Great Techniques and intentionally avoided discussing the Absolute Realm. I needed to start at the point of understanding why distinguishing the Absolute Realm creates a wall.
The Master of the Twelve Joules continued,
“Well, the martial techniques were learned from the Three Masters of the Manha Spiritual Gate, and aside from that, I self-studied various things. My martial technique master is also one of the Three.”
I glanced at the Three Masters, Yun Sa, U Sa, and Wind Master, who stood beside the Master of the Twelve Joules, showing no change in expression. If what he said was accurate, it seemed they taught him martial techniques. Out of curiosity, I asked,
“How old are you and the Three?”
The Master of the Twelve Joules smirked at my question.
“Can’t ask a woman her age, but it’s okay for the males, huh?”
“Not like that…”
“Should I ask directly? Yun Sa! U Sa! Wind Master!”
“Yes.”
As the Three responded politely, the Master of the Twelve Joules inquired,
“How old is each of you?”
One by one, they replied.
“Three thousand four hundred fifty-seven years.”
“Same.”
“Same.”
“……”
What does that mean? Have they lived over three thousand four hundred years?
I gaped at them in disbelief, yet they bore human forms and were not spirit beings like immortals. Even with Half-Transition Master techniques to extend lifespan, living over a thousand years seemed impossible, but here stood beings who had lived for over three thousand years.
But the Master of the Twelve Joules nodded in understanding.
“Well, that makes sense. You all likely descended during the initial phase of the Silver Age.”
“Yes.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules turned to me.
“The Three are not humans. They are divine spirits who descended to the earth with Hwanung during the Divine Age. Therefore, they cannot be measured by human lifespan, being immortal beings.”
“But they are not spirits. They have human bodies, though?”
As I expressed my doubts, he replied,
“They reincarnated.”
“… Pardon?”
“As you said, spirits are mental entities, making it impossible for them to stay in the material world for long without a vessel. They require a spiritual vessel. However, since the Three moved their roots to the earth, they continuously reincarnate to maintain their presence in the material world.”
“……!!”
I could only be astonished. Suddenly, Xiang Yu’s words came to mind.
[I didn’t expect to fight with Dalgi, but it was quite fun. So I’ll teach you one more thing.]
[But… what could you possibly teach me? I’m already dead, aren’t I? What’s the point of that?]
[You don’t have the mark of forgetfulness. You’re likely to reincarnate again.]
[The mark of forgetfulness? What’s that?]
[All enlightened beings have the mark engraved in their souls, causing them to forget within the cycle of reincarnation. But occasionally, the mark disappears or may never have existed in the first place. Those individuals can reincarnate while retaining their memories.]
Yes, that was indeed true. Xiang Yu spoke of the clear existence of reincarnators in this world and said that to distinguish them, one had to observe the mark of forgetfulness. Those without it could reincarnate while retaining memories.
‘ So the Three are deliberately shedding the mark of forgetfulness through their divine power and are reincarnating.’
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the martial techniques to discern the mark of forgetfulness. Even using palace examination techniques to seek it wouldn’t help, as the functionality of the national seal was currently closed because of Peng Zuo, leaving me with no means other than drawing out spirit energy. Hence, I couldn’t see the puppy’s face beyond the dog mask.
Suddenly I remembered to ask the Master of the Twelve Joules,
“By the way, I didn’t ask your age.”
“My age? I believe I’m thirty-two this year.”
“……”
“Not believing me, huh? Well, it’s hard to tell since I’m wearing this mask.”
I gazed at him.
“That’s odd too. Why are you wearing a complete mask?”
“To protect myself from the warped flow of cause and effect.”
It’s the same.
I had previously asked him why he wore a mask, and he responded the same way, mentioning the warped flow of cause and effect. If I let this slide again, it would surely be my regret, so I steeled myself and asked again.
“What do you mean by the warped flow of cause and effect? Are you saying meeting me is inauspicious?”
The Master of the Twelve Joules might get upset or angry, but I couldn’t let it slide. Previously, I thought it not worth much of a concern, but now that I reflect, it became clear that he only donned the mask when meeting me. When I locked eyes with him, the Master of the Twelve Joules nodded.
“Right.”
“……!!”
“I always read the celestial signs and do divination when significant matters arise. When my powers combine with the Three, I can glimpse most possible futures. And regarding this meeting with you, the sign indicated the warped flow of cause and effect would turn harmful to me, yet that very flow would also hold a grand opportunity.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules took a sip of water and continued.
“That’s why I wanted to meet you more. That ominousness had an unusual twist.”
“An unusual twist?”
“Amidst that grand flow of causality, an ominous presence wrapped around me as you came, yet strangely, you embodied a ‘nothingness’ that no diviner could decipher. A person with a bad omen should be marked with doom, but you were a chaos that no fortune teller could read.”
“……”
“Anyway, because of that, I can’t take off this mask while meeting you. The mask is said to guard me from causality. While wearing this mask, the ominousness you carry cannot affect me.”
Is that so?
Now that I understood why the Master of the Twelve Joules had worn the mask during our meetings, I felt a lightness of spirit. Concluding his thoughts, the Master of the Twelve Joules addressed me.
“Seems I’ve talked enough about myself; it’s time you shared about your martial arts.”
“Yes.”
I revealed that I had trained in the Thunder God Lineage. Of course, admitting anything about the Seven Great Techniques would likely put me on his radar, so I kept that to myself. The Master of the Twelve Joules seemed disinterested in the martial arts of low-rank practitioners, listening idly until he finally spoke up.
“Got it. The reason you achieved such powerful martial skills at a young age was due to consuming Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and the excellent teachings from the Thunder God Lineage, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s fair, but what about the power of the dragon?”
I talked about the Fire Dragon Incarnate. After all, the Master of the Twelve Joules was already taking it for granted that I possessed the Seven Luminaries, so there was no point in hiding it any longer. When I recounted how I summoned the Fire Dragon Incarnate to battle in the Imperial Palace, he pondered for a moment before speaking.
“When will the Fire Dragon Incarnate be resurrected?”
“I believe it will regain its vitality within a year or two, but… I can’t say for sure.”
“I see. Still… definitely a great potential.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules muttered, then announced,
“Alright then, as a joint Master of the Twelve Joules, I propose we start our venture for sea god eradication today.”
“What do you mean by that? I haven’t heard any plans.”
“The plan is simple.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules crossed his arms and explained the “plan.”
“As I see it, there are six bases for the Sea God in this archipelago and the continent, particularly around Dongyoung. Those six will form a shape resembling six stars, acting as strong sources of magical power. Starting now, I will crush those towns of the merfolk sequentially with you.”
Suddenly, the thought hit me.
‘ Oh, now that I think about it, near Pirate Island…’
Right after my reincarnation, I frequently eradicated the Blood Blade Group pirates while retrieving treasure from there. During that period, I learned about an underwater city nearby, brimming with fishmen, which was also a wicked site for human sacrifices.
When I cautiously brought this up to the Master of the Twelve Joules, he nodded.
“I know. That place has been on my radar as well.”
“Wait a minute…”
I exclaimed, flabbergasted by his response.
“If you know, then why haven’t you eradicated the Blood Blade Group? They’ve been committing atrocious acts, raiding land dwellers and traders!”
My question was valid. If he was aware of the Blood Blade Group, why hadn’t he acted? The Master of the Twelve Joules replied nonchalantly.
“Deploying just a couple of our sect would make short work of those pirates. However, the Sea God’s forces are meticulously watching our movements. If our elite acts to eradicate the pirates, those merfolk would just relocate their bases from wherever we pinpointed.”
“……”
“Do you think you could find their base, buried deep in the massively vast sea, where the depth is tens of li? I had no choice but to let them be, as I needed to wipe them all out in one go.”
That made a certain kind of sense.
Moreover, as he mentioned, my solo efforts to vanquish the Blood Blade Group had evidently flown under the exclusionary radar of the merfolk, allowing their city to remain unmoved. However, I still couldn’t bring myself to accept that reality, and I glared at him.
“The powerless commoners you discarded for the sake of the grand design have either been murdered or enslaved. Hundreds of them!”
Had I not saved them, they would still be enslaved or dead, and new ones would be suffering under the pirates’ hands. The Master of the Twelve Joules replied indifferently.
“An unfortunate circumstance. But defeating the Sea God is more important.”
“……!!”
I felt a surge of disillusionment. As I clenched my fist and restrained my anger, the Master of the Twelve Joules said,
“Baek Woong. Indignation is a good thing. Having no anger means one can’t truly live. But what value does that anger have if you’re defeated?”
“What do you mean by value?”
“If you lose, nothing remains. No matter what it takes, you must secure victory by any means necessary. If not, then once again…”
The Master of the Twelve Joules mumbled as if reminiscing.
“Enough. This conversation is futile. Anyway, now that you have made a deal with me, you need to act immediately.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Seal!”
Shu shu shu shu shh!
Suddenly, as the Master of the Twelve Joules raised his hand, all the sect leaders of the Twelve Joules appeared around the manor where I stood. I recognized every single face.
‘ Is this a martial technique to summon the Dharma Guardians?’
As I glanced around them, the Master of the Twelve Joules, Ha Eun-cheon, said coldly,
“We’re heading to eradicate the six bases of the Sea God sequentially from now on. Baek Woong, you’re to seal the magical power of those places using the Fire Dragon Sword or the power of the Seven Luminaries.”
That was doable. Even if the Fire Dragon Sword didn’t awaken, I could still utilize the national seal or Fire Spirit’s power. I asked with concern,
“Isn’t this a bit hasty?”
“Why in the world is it hasty when you have plenty of strength? You’re busy too, so wouldn’t it be best to swiftly assist me?”
“……”
Ha Eun-cheon grinned.
“Just so you know, it’ll only become real once all six seals are placed.”
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