Chapter 117
117th Chapter: Heavenly Alliance (天地會) – Illustration
“… So the rumor about the Gongdong Sect’s Supreme Technique being in the hands of the host was true. What a speechless situation! I, Sinseung, have committed a great insult to the so-hyeop.”
Upon hearing my words, Sinseung lowered his head and expressed his apologies to me.
Considering our kinship, he was as far removed as my great-grandfather, or rather, it was a deep bow of apology to me, who was far beneath him.
While it held some significance, it was insufficient to clear the matter just like that.
I almost died, after all.
Never did I think communication could be this difficult.
“You’re not planning to let this slide with just words, are you?”
“Amitabha. How could I possibly do that? I’ll inform the Grand Master to provide one Daehwan Dan and three Sohwan Dans as a token of sincerity for my hasty judgment.”
One Daehwan Dan and three Sohwan Dans.
Considering that the Daehwan Dan is a miraculous elixir that ensures exceptional power for one impending challenge while the Sohwan Dan guarantees ten years of strength, this was a hefty compensation.
The Daehwan Dan was the token for the winner of the Yongbong Society, bestowed from Shaolin, capable of claiming the title of the Orthodox Faction’s best post-stimulation indicator—no need to elaborate on that.
If I were an ordinary martial artist, I would have accepted Sinseung’s high-social status as sufficient at this point.
But I was no ordinary martial artist; I was a schemer of 999 lifetimes.
I couldn’t be satisfied with just this much.
I was still hungry.
“Sinseung’s uncouth actions have inflicted a grievous injury to my heart. While physical injuries heal, emotional scars torment individuals for long. Even if bestowed with a fortune, one cannot heal such a wound; the esteemed Heavenly Physician, Elder Dang, shakes his head at it being a heartache.”
Cough!
I pretended to cough up blood, even dragging the name of a quack doctor into my self-imposed threat, amplifying the damage.
After a traffic accident, even with minor injuries, one would immediately lie down and visit the clinic. I had to squeeze every last imaginable benefit from this situation.
Moreover, my emotional scars were no lie! The horrifying feeling of being forced to revert to that wretched form I’d rather not remember! The overwhelming despair of gone vitality!
Sinseung, who never used such vitality, would never understand my feelings.
Seeing my state, Sinseung’s cheeks twitched.
“…Ah. My sins run deep. Amitabha. So hyeop, what more do you desire? Speak, and I shall listen.”
Sinseung, rolling the beads with his fingers, replied.
I continued to cough as I spoke.
“One more Daehwan Dan, and I want an alliance between my sect and the Shaolin Temple.”
I intended to take one Daehwan Dan for myself while giving the second to Seoharin.
Shaolin was an assemblage of dark-seeking men.
Naturally, the martial methods of Shaolin favored male martial arts, like Yanggyeongqigong, over the female energy circulation method, Yinhang Qigong. Thus, the elixir Daehwan Dan, designed for Shaolin’s training regimen, would inevitably lean slightly more towards Yang energy than Yin.
A yang-leaning elixir meant it would be beneficial for men.
Though starting from the second, tolerance would build and the effectiveness would drastically reduce.
Hehehehe. Who would have thought to accidentally find a vitality supplement in a temple? With just one Daehwan Dan, I could survive endlessly on meatless, grassy temple food.
Thus, the second Daehwan Dan was meant for my Same. If she consumed it and I facilitated her spirit channeling, she could tap into her innate power.
In one go, the Gongdong Sect’s strength would be doubled!
‘And if I can forge an alliance with the foremost Orthodox Faction, Shaolin, the stature of the Gongdong Sect would elevate even further.’
Forming alliances was crucial for me, as my aim was to rebuild our faction.
Once allied with Shaolin, few sects in the Orthodox Faction would dare ignore the Gongdong Sect.
The Gongdong Sect-Shaolin alliance was an unheard-of occurrence even in my first run. Given Shaolin’s nature of staying uninvolved in secular affairs, it had never formed an alliance until now.
Securing an alliance with such a faction would mark a success for my self-centered tactics.
“Amitabha… an alliance…”
As Sinseung rolled his beads, he closed his eyes, contemplating.
I sipped the tasteless tea while waiting for his decision.
After all, pondering wouldn’t change anything.
Stimulating his sense of debt towards the Gongdong Sect in addition to compensating for what he’d done, his answer had already been predetermined.
“… Fine. I shall accept this request from you, so hyeop.”
“Thank you.”
“… Speaking of which, I truly was unaware that you were indeed the one in possession of the Gongdong Sect’s Supreme Technique… What you displayed was undoubtedly the legendary Honwon Geomje, said to have severed the Blood Demon’s head, showcasing the Honwon Mugukdo. However, the foreign energy you harbor…”
“The Honwon Geomje I encountered, or rather, the remnants of that individual conveyed the following to me,” I interrupted Sinseung.
“I cannot solely rely on the natural order to confront the unnatural. To counter the aspects of reversing heavenly fates, one must possess the reverse itself. Someone who can embody both heavenly intentions and reversing energies… is required.”
The conversation I had with Honwon Geomje and his words still resonated clearly in my mind.
He spoke vaguely, yet I could extract and rearrange the keywords appropriately.
The expression on Sinseung’s face became peculiar upon hearing my words.
He lowered his head as if considering.
“Amitabha. Was he referring to paradoxes? Or… to the essence of reversals?”
Sinseung spun the bead.
“Ah, I see. Perhaps it is the reason the Heavenly Alliance has continually failed until now…”
Muttering to himself, he assumed a meditative position.
A precursor to enlightenment, I suppose.
Look at him, usually a top-tier sect leader, yet just hearing about Honwon Geomje allows him to find enlightenment!
A golden light emanated from him, flickering and fading.
He opened his eyes.
“… I’ve just experienced a minor achievement. I owe a debt to both Honwon Geomje and you. Amitabha.”
There was no reason to extract further. I could bank that emotional debt until later to cash in like a Sinseung summon coupon.
Sinseung would become a sustainable ATM.
“It’s alright; don’t worry about it.”
“I’m no longer curious why your spirit resembles that of a eunuch or why you know about Rules Preservation. You must be the chosen one of the Honwon Geomje. What occurred during our private meeting shall remain a secret sworn on the name of Binseung, carried to the grave.”
Of course, keeping secrets was obligatory.
Well, I was okay with that. I nodded.
“Thank you.”
“… Well then. You’re aware that you’ve encountered the Blood Sect during your explorations in Geumhu Bidong, right?”
“That I have.”
“What do you know about it?”
Chururur…
Sinseung poured me more tasteless green tea while asking.
Finally, the main topic, huh?
But seriously, making me drink this unsavory tea feels like torture, doesn’t it?
I spoke while sipping the tea.
“I know that they were the ones who proclaimed the celestial beings would be eradicated, lying low in the dark, orchestrating the massacre of common citizens while aiming for dominion over the world. The Blood Demon, the true leader, was slain by Honwon Geomje after which the sect was branded as traitors, disappearing from the face of the earth. That’s how the world understands it. Yet, based on records left by the previous Sword Master and what I’ve seen with my own eyes, I suspect the Blood Sect is still alive, plotting shadows to drench the world in blood.”
“…Ah, that’s incorrect. What you’ve stated is far from the truth.”
Sinseung denied my words without hesitation.
What?
Incorrect? No way! The Blood Sect originally began as an extremist faction of the Demon Sect led by the Bloody Celestial Demon. They attempted to seize control but were expelled, establishing their roots in Guangdong Shiwan Mountain.
That was it…
“Blood Sect… in truth, that was merely a name put forth by the Blood Demon back then. And I must correct myself; ‘back then’ is an understatement. Blood Demon… he possesses countless other names.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Blood Demon is a monster who has lived for over a thousand years since ancient times, evading his fatal fate through rebirth using the Great Method of Reversal. The Blood Sect is just one of the many tools he created.”
This was genuinely new information to me.
My head spun. The Blood Demon is an eternal reincarnator? He’s existed since ancient times, constantly reborn in a new body via the Rebirth Great Method, perpetually scheming?
The scale was suddenly much larger than I had anticipated. It was unlike anything familiar.
“… That guy… I mean for simplicity’s sake, he shall be referred to as Blood Demon. Fearing death above all else, he attempted to dodge eternal slumber. But death is a destiny bestowed upon all by heaven. To transcend fate, one must achieve nirvana or utilize the means of countering heavenly commands; however, Blood Demon chose the path of reversal. It was a method of discarding his withering body to shift his spirit to a new one, forever eluding death. When that transpired is unknown.”
The Rebirth Great Method.
While I had long deduced he must be using it, I never imagined the truth would be like this.
Continuing, Sinseung spoke.
“However, the procedures of reversal are not without flaws. The punishment from heaven for breaking predetermined lifespans followed the Blood Demon’s essence, gnawing away at it. With each reincarnation, the essence weakened. He then came to realize that if he ascended to heaven and became a deity, the curse would dissappear.”
“After realizing that, the Blood Demon aimed for heaven, striving to take dominion over the world. This, in turn, is the very reason for his espionage. Hence, the foundation of the Heavenly Alliance, which originated as a gathering of families killed in cold blood by the Blood Demon in ancient times, is tasked with protecting the world and thwarting his aspiration to ascend.”
The Heavenly Alliance.
That organization’s history was as ancient as the Blood Demon?
Considering such a goal and motive, it now made sense how the Heavenly Alliance accepted its members irrespective of states or sects.
A wave of previously unknown information crashed over me.
“Every time the Blood Demon descended again, our Heavenly Alliance stood up together with heroes, resisting his ambitions both publicly and privately. In the chaotic times of the end of the Yuan Dynasty, during the battle at Payang Lake, the Blood Demon was heavily wounded. His body was defeated and the scars of the Honwon Mugukdo left on his spirit remain unhealed. That’s why he cannot currently act in the world. While I don’t know where his hiding place is… one thing is certain.”
Thump!
Sinseung put down his teacup.
He gazed at me intently.
“The eternal battle between heaven and the reversal, the struggle between the Heavenly Alliance and the Blood Demon, and the fight between the world and the Blood Demon have finally led us to a tremendous opportunity. To date, there has never been a time when the Blood Demon has been this weakened, especially now that…”
His gaze turned towards me, his eyes softening.
“… According to Honwon Geomje’s words. To bring an end to the Blood Demon’s reversal, we too will need a means of reversal. Yet mere reversal is not enough. We must embody both the spirit of reversal and the supreme techniques of heaven… it requires someone who can combine the contradiction into one. And that person is…”
“Me, I assume.”
Honwon Geomje had vanquished the physical form of the Blood Demon.
Yet, his spirit remained intact, albeit wounded terribly by the Honwon Mugukdo.
That’s likely why the Blood Demon has tried desperately to dismantle the Honwon Bidong. I’d been the first to inflict such damage on his spirit.
Now it made sense why he could scarcely operate in the world. Given his spirit was injured, having not been fully resurrected, he likely could not step even a foot outside his hiding place.
Heavenly reversal.
If the Blood Demon’s reincarnation represented reversal, then my return could also be identified as a kind of reversal.
However, I’ve been learning the Supreme Techniques of the Gongdong Sect. The advanced techniques from Honwon Geomje were what I inherited.
I alone embody both the essence of reversal and supreme heavenly techniques.
‘Then perhaps the world from my first run…’
But it was not the first run.
In that timeline, the Blood Sect dismantled my Honwon Bidong and my elder brother could never inherit the supreme techniques from Honwon Geomje.
In the Martial World of Jianghu, the Heavenly Alliance fought valiantly while I did in the Imperial Palace to delay the Blood Demon’s resurrection, but that was all.
The Blood Demon—an ancient monster who’d lived for over a millennium—wouldn’t hesitate to wait another hundred years for the next generation’s reincarnation.
Ultimately, once this generation concluded, the Blood Demon would once again rise.
Yet time had been reversed, and the resurrection had yet to occur.
My return imbued the spirit with heavenly reversals, while Honwon Geomje imparted the supreme techniques of heaven to me.
I carry contradiction within me.
Wait.
‘Is it truly a contradiction to possess both reversal and the supreme techniques of heaven?’
I posed the question to myself.
Could this truly be a contradiction? Suddenly, the image of Honwon Geomje flashed in my mind.
With it, the image of the reversed Taiji.
Flipping the Taiji reveals Yin and Yang.
Similarly, reversing heavenly intentions flips to natural order.
Inversion.
Yin and Yang Reversal.
The teachings from the Gongdong Sect’s division leader, Kwangseong, may have pointed to harmony itself.
Perhaps the contradiction that Honwon Geomje and Sinseung spoke of wasn’t actually a contradiction.
As that thought emerged, I closed my eyes and assumed the lotus position.
The Minor Yang Heart Method and the Three Yin True Formula activated simultaneously, and the Yin Cold Energy surged upwards. I naturally channeled the Primordial Unity Technique. A massive wall appeared before me.
It was several times larger and thicker than the wall of ultimate climax.
It was the wall of supreme saturation.
I raised my hand. The blue Yin energy and red Yang energy collided against the wall of supreme saturation, propelled by the Primordial Unity Technique.
Gugugugugugugugu!
With a colossal roar, the wall of supreme saturation crumbled effortlessly. The wave of energy that shattered it surged forth like a tsunami, crashing into an even larger wall.
That wall was Hwakyung’s Wall. However, Hwakyung’s Wall did not budge at all. Yet…
I could see the world beyond the wall. It was the cosmos. A universe filled with nebulae and galaxies, aglow with billions of shimmering stars sprawled before Hwakyung’s Wall.
That was the barrier I would eventually need to transcend.
Yet now, it was a wall that would not open.
As I stepped back from the wall, I opened my eyes.
“Congratulations on your achievement.”
Sinseung’s voice echoed.
I had finally ascended to the pinnacle of supreme saturation.
At that moment, as I heard Sinseung’s reply and smiled…
“I’m fed up! How long are you planning to keep testing me? Stupid hot-headed, old monk! Hmph! I can’t wait any longer! I’m going in now!”
From behind came an unfamiliar but oddly familiar voice.
I turned my head.
There stood someone who shouldn’t be here.
The face was obscured by a veil, yet the devastating beauty, alluring nature, and the shining crimson hair that hugged the magical body were striking, belonging to none other than Hyeon-gyeong—the top master of Hao Mun, the Sado Family’s first daughter, and the unparalleled practitioner of the faction.
Yeomwang Jeoksawol was approaching from the Dalma Cave passageway.
No.
Why is Jeoksawol here?