Chapter 224
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Heavenly Realm
After freeing the Shadowless Gate from the Wooden Armor, the next day, I headed straight to the Wudang Sect. Since I had visited the Wudang Sect before, I told the Sword Demon that I could get there right away using the Golden Eagle. He seemed pleased and said, “That will save us time.”
“The reason we’re visiting Ming Long is indeed because of the Cave-Collapsing Sword and Heavenly Contraction Sword, right?”
“That’s part of it, but I also have something important to discuss with him.”
Whoosh!
Using the Golden Eagle, we landed in front of the mountain gate of the Wudang Sect. As we walked a little further, we were supposed to reach the Sword Disarmament Ground, but it seemed eerily quiet, probably due to the early morning hour. However, after walking about twenty steps, I sensed something stirring.
‘Gate Guardians.’
A substantial expert had detected our presence and was on high alert. It seemed like the Sword Demon noticed first, as he began whispering something to someone far away.
Rustle…
In the eerie dawn of the mountain region, a Taoist figure appeared. This wasn’t like the last Taoist, Mugwang. This was no ordinary master from the Wudang Eight Swords. I could tell this Taoist’s energy was many times more powerful than Mugwang’s.
Clearly, a Peak Expert!
With white hair at the temples but a generally dark head of hair, the Taoist glanced at us and said, “I am Hyun Jong. It’s an honor to meet the famous Sword Demon, Lord of the Shadowless Gate.”
In response to Master Hyun Jong’s greeting, the Sword Demon returned with a bow. “I hadn’t expected to see the master of the Wudang Sect in a place like this.”
Master Hyun Jong!
I had heard about him from Master Hyuncheon.
‘They said he’s particularly strong among the Taoist masters.’
The Hyun family line of the Wudang Sect currently held significant strength, overseeing the elders. While Master Hyuncheon had left to train his disciples and create his own sect, Master Hyun Jong remained at Wudang Mountain as a prominent elder. The next highest rank was the Cheong family line, represented by Cheongpungja, who was also rarely seen, making Master Hyun Jong a highly influential figure in the martial world.
And just as Master Hyuncheon assessed, Master Hyun Jong’s power radiated mightily. He had honed the pure internal energy of the Wudang Sect for decades, exuding a truly formidable presence, making him a Peak Expert on the verge of mastery.
As Master Hyun Jong slowly spoke, “I was taking a casual stroll near the mountain gate at dawn when this unexpected situation arose. May I ask why Lord of the Shadowless Gate has come to our sect?”
Master Hyun Jong and the Sword Demon seemed to know each other. The Sword Demon replied nonchalantly, “I came to see Ming Long.”
Master Hyun Jong’s eyebrows twitched.
“What? Are you talking about Master Sa-sook?”
“Well, since there’s only one remaining master from the Ming family line in the Wudang Sect, it must be him.”
“Leave!”
Without any further discussion, Master Hyun Jong issued an order to dismiss us, clearly disapproving. He glared at us with an intense gaze and continued, “Master Sa-sook is currently occupied with important matters and cannot meet any outsiders.”
“That important matter would be the restoration of the Cave-Collapsing Sword and Heavenly Contraction Sword, right?”
“……!!”
“I came to discuss this matter.”
Before Master Hyun Jong could protest in surprise, the Sword Demon mischievously grinned and added, “If you don’t take me to Ming Long quickly, I might just spread that secret all over Jianghu.”
“Ugh… How dare you threaten us on the home turf of the Wudang Sect!”
“Ming Long and I are old acquaintances, after all. He’s not the type to hold a grudge, so he’ll understand what I mean.”
The Sword Demon pushed and prodded like he was toying with Master Hyun Jong. The elder’s frown grew deeper as he seemed to get trapped in the eloquence of the Sword Demon. But letting the secret of the techniques leak into Jianghu was an even greater fear, so he appeared to be hesitating.
After a moment, Master Hyun Jong narrowed his eyes at the Sword Demon and asked, “Have you told anyone else that secret?”
“Absolutely not. Do I look like the type?”
“… Fine. However, should that statement be a lie, you won’t leave this place alive.”
“Don’t worry, just show me the way.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Master Hyun Jong vanished using the Wudang Sect’s Heavenly Cloud Sect technique. He must have gone to talk to other Wudang Taoists or perhaps the elders. The Sword Demon casually leaned against a nearby tree stump, chuckling to himself.
“Things must be getting tense for him.”
“You’re really impressive.”
“I can handle someone like Master Hyun Jong easily.”
“……”
Considering that the elders of the Hyun family are generally Peak Experts and that many martial artists from Jianghu interact with them, it’s no casual boast. Especially someone of Master Hyun Jong’s caliber could easily leave the Wudang Sect and establish his own sect. It was clear that for the Sword Demon, the likes of Master Hyun Jong was no challenge.
About two meals’ time later, Master Hyun Jong returned, flanked by six powerful experts. He fixed a piercing glare at us and commanded, “Follow me.”
“You really don’t trust me at all! I didn’t expect you to hurry back with someone like Cheongil.”
“……”
Indeed.
Among the six Master Hyun Jong brought back, five were elders of the Hyun family from the Wudang Sect, and one was Cheongil, whom I had seen previously. Cheongil was clearly an extraordinary Peak Expert and was the disciple of Cheongpungja, the leader of the Wudang Sect. The power of the Wudang Taoists gathered here was truly staggering.
Cheongil stared at the Sword Demon, Seo Mun-dae-ryong, with deep-set eyes and stated, “Lord, I’ve heard you’re usually humble and polite, but when you wield your killing intent, you become just as the nickname suggests, ‘Sword Demon.’ Therefore, I’m cautious of you; I hope we won’t clash.”
“Do as you please. Yet, I find it suspicious that you might trick me into a trap.”
“Hmph…”
Cheongil scoffed and turned away, leading his group forward. I followed along, contemplating.
‘This is just splendid.’
There probably aren’t many places in Jianghu with such a high density of experts. Peak Experts are hardly easily encountered. I thought briefly about what fraction of the Wudang Sect’s power these gathered Taoists represented but gave up since I couldn’t speculate on Ming Long’s or Cheongil’s strength.
About a meal’s time later, we reached a huge peak.
“Wait here.”
As we reached the peak halfway up, Cheongil climbed a cliff and entered a cave. His light body technique was impressive, using no hands to scale the cliff.
Shortly after, something small flew through the cave and landed in front of us.
Flop!
It landed silently, showing it employed the Void Technique. A young boy in Wudang robes appeared, staring intensely at the Sword Demon.
“You brat, what are you plotting?”
In reply, the Sword Demon grinned and said, “Plotting? I simply have something important to discuss, so could you please move your disciples aside?”
Ming Long nodded.
“Understood. You all leave.”
“Master Sa-sook!!”
The elders from the Hyun family were visibly startled. It was understandable, considering that allowing the Sword Demon, the strongest of the Heretical Faction, to face Ming Long alone seemed dangerously reckless. Just as Ming Long was about to get flustered, Cheongil, who descended behind, said, “I understand, Master. Please be cautious.”
“Okay, I’ll contact Cheongpungja separately.”
“Yes.”
Whoosh!
Now, the Wudang experts, including Cheongil, vanished from the hall. Ming Long crossed his arms and asked, “The Cave-Collapsing Sword and Heavenly Contraction Sword? Are you joking, Sword Demon?”
“No joke. You’ll understand once you see it.”
Before Ming Long could say anything, the Sword Demon drew his sword and began to demonstrate it slowly in the wide open space. His movements weren’t fast or impressive; even an ordinary person could follow them. It hardly seemed like peerless swordplay, yet the fundamental techniques of the Cave-Collapsing Sword and Heavenly Contraction Sword were embedded deep within.
Swish!
“……!!”
The Sword Demon showcased around fifty seconds of the Shadowless Soul-Removing Sword Technique, and Ming Long’s expression stiffened. After finishing the demonstration, the Sword Demon said, “Now, do you believe me?”
“How did you acquire it?”
“Thanks to the White Dharma Protector.”
Ming Long’s gaze shifted towards me as the Sword Demon continued to explain.
“The White Dharma Protector obtained a fortuitous encounter from the ruins of some Wudang Sect, allowing him to inherit a legacy of martial arts from memory. The techniques include the Cave-Collapsing Sword, Heavenly Contraction Sword, True Martial Seven Cuts Classic, Heavenly Five Divine Decisions, Tai Chi Yau Ji Willow Sword, Seven Stars Shadow, and the Peerless Technique. Thanks to the White Dharma Protector, I was able to learn the Cave-Collapsing Sword and Heavenly Contraction Sword techniques that are of great help to me.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
“Let me show it to you.”
At the Sword Demon’s request, I nodded and swiftly began to execute the techniques of the Wudang Sect.
Whap, whap, whap!
Having memorized it thoroughly, my proficiency with the techniques was considerably high. Thanks to my flawless execution, the speed at which I connected the moves was also much faster. Within less than a meal of time, I had completed showcasing the techniques, leaving Ming Long standing there, stunned.
“……”
After a long pause, Ming Long finally regained his senses and exclaimed, “What the hell! How did you gain such insight into Shadowless Gate?!”
Suddenly bursting out in frustration, Ming Long glared at the Sword Demon. “This brat… what do you think you’re up to?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you alone monopolized this technique for a decade, your martial arts would have advanced several fold—so why have you come to inform me about it?”
“That’s a valid question.”
The Sword Demon smiled bitterly and replied. “Because now is not the time for us to fight.”
“What do you mean…”
“Yes, the White Lotus Sect has already resolved to secretly take control of the Central Plains Martial World. I, too, have nominally joined the White Lotus Sect.”
“……!!”
Hearing that, Ming Long pondered for a moment before asking, “The Assembly of the Eight Demons? Has a Dharma Guardian come out personally?”
“Yes, the most powerful among them, Half-Transition Master Dokgo Jun, has subdued me. The rest of the Eight Demons have likely become puppets of the White Lotus Sect.”
“Damn it…”
As Ming Long spat in anger, he continued, “So you don’t want to fall under the White Lotus Sect and intend to enhance your own capabilities through sharing the Cave-Collapsing Sword and Heavenly Contraction Sword with me, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Haha, you’re quite mad. Do you really expect to take on a Dharma Guardian on your own?”
His tone dripped with disbelief. Just then, the Sword Demon nodded earnestly and said, “I think it’s very likely that the insights obtained by the White Dharma Protector were directly made by Yuan Yuanzi. No one in the world would think that Yuan Yuanzi’s insights are weaker than those of the Four Great Families of the White Lotus Sect.”
“……”
Ming Long appeared to be deep in thought. He finally asked, “What was Dokgo Jun’s fighting capability like?”
“Even with both of us attacking at once, it would still be difficult to cut off even one of his arms.”
“Huh… That’s naturally to be expected from the second-in-command of the White Lotus Sect.”
Even under the Sword Demon’s desperate evaluation, Ming Long could only laugh bitterly. The Sword Demon raised an eyebrow.
“You must be aware of the prowess of the White Lotus Sect’s Dharma Guardians.”
“I couldn’t possibly be unaware of the strength of those monsters…”
Ming Long went on, “If you cultivate those insights, you might match or surpass a Dharma Guardian. But you’ve overlooked the most critical issue.”
“You’re referring to the Heavenly Spirit Pill?”
Ming Long nodded.
“Unless you obtain a corresponding realm to the Heavenly Spirit Pill, there’s no way you could outdo them with those techniques.”
“Does the Wudang Sect have a corresponding realm?”
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have struggled this long to master it. There is no such ridiculous realm; if anything, you’d have to become an Immortal and ascend.”
“……”
The idea of an absurd level surfaced. The Sword Demon seemed to have grasped something, falling silent.
Ming Long said with a smile, “Looks like you understand.”
“You are a prominent figure from the Nine Great Sects and a Half-Transition Master. If someone like you deems the Heavenly Spirit Pill absurd…”
The Sword Demon murmured, while Ming Long nodded in agreement.
“Yes, the Heavenly Spirit Pill isn’t a martial arts realm. It’s a power granted through a special ceremony of spirit summoning.”
Spirit summoning and power!
These weren’t terms that could be discussed within the realm of ordinary martial arts. They were undoubtedly concepts grounded in the teachings of the Left Dao. The fact that the greatest genius of the Wudang Sect, Ming Long, used such terms while discussing the Heavenly Spirit Pill indicated that it was indeed a suspicious realm. His explanation continued.
“The reason I think so is that whenever the Dharma Guardians of the White Lotus Sect unleash the Heavenly Spirit Pill, I feel a similar aura to that of the spirit summoning.”
“Spirit summoning?”
“I had a confrontation with both the Wind Spirit and Fire Spirit Dharma Guardians. The intuition I felt at that time must be correct.”
The Sword Demon listened carefully to Ming Long’s words, deep in thought. Then he asked, “I don’t quite understand. Does this mean that the Dharma Guardians are borrowing someone’s power to achieve the Heavenly Spirit Pill?”
“It’s a bit different. I believe the Heavenly Spirit Pill isn’t something they achieve, but something they connect to.”
“Connect to? To whom?”
“The God.”
Ming Long’s eyes gleamed fiercely.
“The connections formed with the great ‘something’ worshipped by the White Lotus Sect wrap around within humans, allowing them to borrow unlimited power… That’s the only way to explain the Heavenly Spirit Pill. No other ascending level in the Dao could clarify it.”
“……”
“I believe it is the power of the God.”
The Heavenly Spirit Pill is a state of borrowing the power of the God! That was Ming Long’s definition of the Heavenly Spirit Pill.
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