Chapter 49
“So, what are we doing about going in and persuading him?”
I pondered for a moment before addressing Mangnyang.
“Can’t you just go in by yourself and persuade him?”
“That’s an option, but it’s not really appealing to me,” came the reply.
“Why not?”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a priest react so vehemently against my intention to visit my master. Once the priest has made up his mind, he won’t budge. He’ll probably not let me in unless I eradicate the source of the evil.”
Mangnyang cast a suspicious glance my way as he spoke.
“Is your inner power somehow linked to the Demon Path?”
“Not at all. As you can see, I derive my ability from the Thunder Qi of the Five Elements. You know all too well that the Thunder Qi possesses the effect of the Serpent Striking in the Right Way, don’t you?”
“Hmm… I’m at a total loss.”
Seeing Mangnyang sulking, I felt a twinge of guilt. Honestly, in this situation, placing the Heavenly Secret somewhere else would be the best solution, but it would raise immediate suspicions. Still, I was reluctant to casually reveal the Heavenly Secret to Mangnyang.
But I had no choice.
Even though I boasted top-notch inner power, the fact that I easily fell for Cheon Woo-jin’s illusion showed that his trickery was remarkable enough to surpass my abilities. It wasn’t the kind of situation that I could brute force my way through. Reluctantly, I decided to confess the truth to Mangnyang.
“Mangnyang. The reason he’s keeping tabs on me is probably because of this book.”
“……?”
I revealed the Heavenly Secret from my pocket. After explaining how I obtained the book, Mangnyang’s eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the ominous script.
“This writing matches that of the Imperial Palace’s Nameless Ritual Book!”
“Can you interpret it?”
“I don’t know how that sorcerer managed, but with my abilities, it’s impossible. Without the Nameless Ritual Book for comparison, there’s no way to interpret it… Well, if it’s something like this, it’s no wonder Cheon Woo-jin sees it as an evil object.”
As he muttered, Mangnyang said, “It seems like you don’t want to part with this book. Does it hold special significance for you?”
“Not really. But who would throw away a precious book that could be a treasure?”
“That’s a fair point.”
When I made my excuse, Mangnyang seemed to understand.
After pondering for a moment, he suggested, “Why not bury this book in a place only you know, then visit your master and retrieve it afterward?”
That made sense, but I couldn’t easily agree to it. Although I brushed it off lightly, it was evident that the Heavenly Secret was the source of my reversal. If I left it somewhere and ended up dying unexpectedly, it would be unlikely to reverse again. Plus, I’d be facing someone with an illusion I couldn’t resist! The chances of dying suddenly because of some whims of the opponent were much higher than someone stealing it.
‘If it’s stolen, it can be found, but if I die, there’s no coming back.’
Thus, I decided to put in a bit of effort to persuade Mangnyang.
“I don’t want to back down that much in front of him. I’ll break his illusion, one way or another.”
“What? That’s ridiculous!”
Mangnyang looked shocked and began explaining point by point.
“Baek Woong, the only reason you breezed through my Mangyun Formation like it was nothing was that my Qimen Dunjia lacked divine ability. Your extraordinary Qi suppressed the techniques. In the Martial Arts World, that’s a common case, so martial artists tend to underestimate Qimen Dunjia. But the priest’s illusion is the true essence of Qimen Dunjia. When divine energy is infused into the techniques, the game changes. No matter how powerful your Qi is, there’s no escaping the interference of an illusion in reality. You probably didn’t even realize you were caught in it.”
I had no rebuttal; he was right.
“Hmm.”
I understood what Mangnyang meant by Intent and Thought. It’s a theory that goes beyond merely controlling Qi towards the highest level of martial arts training. I lacked the talent to grasp it, but people like Jin So-cheong or Lee Kwang were true geniuses who could understand and implement it. For me, it was a distant peak, and I could grasp it only intuitively.
To put it simply, it was a matter of whether intent alone could crack a rock. I could make all the faces I wanted but still wouldn’t manage it. I could only focus my Qi to smash the rock with my fist. However, for Jin So-cheong or Lee Kwang, they could potentially shatter it with sheer intent.
But still, the Heavenly Secret couldn’t leave my body, not even for a moment. I vigorously shook my head.
“In that case, I won’t rely on Master Mangnyang!”
“Wha… what?!”
Mangnyang stood there, dumbfounded, his arms trembling with anger and frustration.
“What a small-minded fool! If you can get help from the master, that would be more precious than a thousand armies, and you would pass up that chance just because you don’t want to part with a book?! Get your head straight!”
“I need a reason I can accept. Either way, in a direct confrontation, the disparity in power is hopeless. How’s relying on Master Mangnyang going to change anything? Can he sweep away the Golden Eagle Guards and Heavenly Tigers with his techniques?”
“……”
“Say what you will. I plan to challenge this illusion until I can make sense of it. I might be able to break through their barrier.”
Mangnyang looked exasperated, as if he might collapse in despair. But just then, he rested his chin on his hand and thought hard before finally responding.
“Your obsession with that book is beyond understanding. But fine, if you’re so insistent, I’ll enter the illusion with you.”
“Does it even matter? You just got caught earlier!”
“If I go with you, the priest at least won’t harm you. Consider it my proposal for compromise.”
So, Mangnyang and I once more strolled back into the village. I felt a little bad for pressuring him, but I had no choice. If I left the Heavenly Secret outside and ended up dead, I’d have a true emergency on my hands. If it came to it, that’s why I was considering giving up Mangnyang’s help.
Swoosh…
After walking about twenty paces, a dense fog suddenly began to envelop the ground. I turned to look, only to find Mangnyang had vanished. What was once an ordinary countryside scene had transformed into a chilling valley.
I gathered my inner strength, attempting to shake off the illusion, but nothing changed.
Step.
And then, from the opposite side, a figure approached. It was still clad in farmer’s clothes, but it was Cheon Woo-jin, glaring at me coldly.
“What a truly ignorant person you are. I acknowledge that your inner power is unparalleled, but don’t even dream of breaking through my Illusion Fog!”
“Why exactly are you blocking me? Do you really have the right to chase away a visitor trying to see his master?”
“As I said, the master is currently absent. The reason I’m stopping you is that the evil energy I sense from you is exceedingly bizarre. It’s not proper to bring such dangerous elements into the master’s sanctuary.”
Feeling wronged, I protested to Cheon Woo-jin.
“Evil energy? Mangnyang and I are simply trying to uphold righteousness to save innocent people! Is it sane for you to accuse me of being sinister out of the blue?”
To my surprise, Cheon Woo-jin replied confidently, “That’s why you’re still alive. It’s not extreme evil, but the energy is entirely novel to me, which is why I’m wary. If it were the energy of something truly malevolent, you wouldn’t even take three steps before your breath would be cut off.”
“That’s not going to happen!”
Gulp!
In that moment, I found myself spitting blood from my nose and mouth. Without knowing why, a wave of impact surged through my insides. There hadn’t even been a visible attack, yet I was hit. Thankfully, it wasn’t critical, but it was a covert attack that caught me completely off guard.
“How could it not happen? In this Illusion Fog, I control both time and space.”
This was dangerous!
Fear swelled within me. Even though Cheon Woo-jin stood just three paces away, it felt like there was no way to reach him. Plus, he held the upper hand, able to attack me whenever he wanted, which put me in an overwhelmingly unfavorable position.
I called out to Cheon Woo-jin, “H-How on earth do you wield that kind of power? You look so young!”
Cheon Woo-jin chuckled softly, “You look five years younger than me. So, you must indeed be a Half-Transition Master, as I suspected.”
“……”
“Be smart and leave while you can. Because of you, even Master Mangnyang is suffering.”
Cheon Woo-jin didn’t seem to have anything against Mangnyang. In fact, given the talent difference, it was contrary to my expectation that he’d look down on him. It appeared to be a normal master-disciple relationship. I hesitated and asked, “What did you do to Mangnyang?”
“He’s stuck wandering in an endless maze. I posed a problem using Qimen Dunjia.”
“Please, just move out of the way. We don’t have time to waste here!”
“You should start acknowledging that it’s you who’s being unreasonable. You need to let go of your thought that I won’t be able to kill you.”
Suddenly, Cheon Woo-jin’s threat escalated. As soon as he finished speaking, the fog surrounding me transformed into spears that encircled my body. It’s needless to say that I had no way to avoid the spears made of fog.
‘Am I done for…?!!’
As I braced myself to battle Cheon Woo-jin, the air crackled.
Thump!
Suddenly, Cheon Woo-jin clapped his fingers, dispersing the spears of fog and said, “This time, you may leave. Your brother has deduced the Qimen Dunjia problem. But if you come back with another problem next time, I won’t show mercy.”
He solved the Qimen Dunjia problem?
Before I could wrap my head around it, the scenery in front of me changed. Mangnyang and I found ourselves back at the entrance of the village, where Mangnyang was panting heavily, half-exhausted.
“Huff… huff… The priest’s skills keep growing stronger…”
“Hey! Are you alright?”
I quickly checked Mangnyang’s pulse. Thankfully, it appeared he was only drained of energy without any serious injuries. Mangnyang still seemed a bit dizzy as he rubbed his temple and tried to stand up. I asked him, “So you solved the Qimen Dunjia problem?”
Mangnyang nodded, “Yeah. The priest was really intent on killing you, so I requested to wager. If I won, he’d let us leave the Illusion Fog.”
“……”
Mangnyang scratched his head, letting out a sigh. “It was a really tough problem. I was on edge the whole time. I might fall behind in Qimen Dunjia studies now.”
I felt heat rise to my cheeks. I didn’t need him to verbalize the conditions for the loss. If I had lost, I’d likely have perished within the Illusion Fog without putting up any resistance, while Mangnyang assuredly would have worn himself out, collapsing inside. Feeling that Mangnyang had saved my life made my embarrassment swell.
‘I pushed too hard.’
I sensed it was time to put my selfish motives aside. Honestly, without Mangnyang, my sixth life would have been doomed from the start. My tendency to drop dead like a fly changed when he helped me focus and even assist in exorcising heretical sects. Since he thought of me as a companion, I also needed to sacrifice a bit of my own desire.
After a long deliberation, I finally declared, “I’ll bury the Heavenly Secret now.”
“Good thinking.”
With that, I buried the Heavenly Secret about 5 li away beneath a unique pine tree. Later, I’d come back to retrieve it while relying on my memory, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble. Then I once again entered the village with Mangnyang.
This time, mysteriously, the Illusion Fog didn’t appear. No matter where I looked, it was a perfectly ordinary village, and residents strolled about leisurely. As I remained on high alert, I heard Cheon Woo-jin’s voice resonate like a rumble.
[You’ve entered after erasing your evil Qi. I’ll permit your presence.]
The voice vanished like a cleaning wind, and we found peace restored to the village. Mangnyang, who stood beside me, managed a wry smile.
“Don’t be too disheartened, Baek Woong. The priest is a genius who learned the arts of immortals effortlessly since he was six. Along with his outstanding divine talents, he has the bloodline of the immortals. There are probably only a couple of sorcerers across the entire continent who could contend with him.”
“Is he really that skilled?”
“If not, how could he carry on the true teachings of Master Mangnyang? To fight against the priest, one would need a martial artist at the level of the Master of the White Lotus Sect or a Dharma Guardian.”
“……”
I believed Mangnyang’s claims weren’t exaggerated. Cheon Woo-jin’s illusions were so surpassing that they shattered any limits martial artists conceived. If Cheon Woo-jin had that level of skill, I could only imagine the abilities of his teacher, Master Mangnyang.
But despite that, I grinned.
“This should be interesting.”
Today’s defeat didn’t feel frustrating; I felt like I was awakening to a new realm. Plus, even if it was still quite distant, knowing I could combat such elite sorcerers if I learned to wield Intent and Thought was enlightening!
That night, after booking a room at the inn, I immediately began practicing my inner power and martial arts. Having wasted half a year trapped by Cheon Woo-jin’s illusion, I had garnered valuable lessons. I couldn’t afford to stop or become complacent; else I would die yet again without getting anywhere.
And it wasn’t until exactly two months later that I was able to meet Master Mangnyang again.
