Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 267

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 267

The highest peak of Mount Tai.

From below, it seemed to touch the sky, but now that he had climbed up, the heavens still felt infinitely distant.

The White-Robed Immortal was there.

Sitting casually on the flat rock of the mountain peak, gazing down as if surveying all under heaven.

The sight was quite magnificent.

His white robes fluttering in the rising wind, and his serene back view.

The aura surrounding him even gave off a mystical feeling.

Step.

Zhuge Munhyeon deliberately didn’t hide his footsteps.

He would already know of his visit.

So he approached carefully and respectfully, making his footsteps audible.

“I have come.”

“Sit.”

“Yes.”

When he spoke politely, the man’s voice carried over as if riding the wind.

Though his tone was gentle, it was filled with an authority difficult to refuse.

Soon the man turned around and spoke.

“You’ve concealed your spirit energy.”

“Yes.”

“Yeongmun must have taught you?”

“Did you know?”

“He knew more mysterious things than expected. He must have learned the martial arts called Yang Medicine.”

“That’s correct.”

Since he already seemed to know everything, there was no need to hide or speak in circles.

He was an infinitely distant existence.

He had so easily trapped Cheonggyeo in a talisman, when even after such fierce battle, victory couldn’t be guaranteed.

It wasn’t fear.

It was courtesy toward the strong.

It was respect for one who had reached a realm he himself had never achieved.

“How should I address you?”

“Huabuyuan. I am the owner of Bosan Pavilion.”

Huabuyuan.

The supreme one among those who transform talismans.

This was the moment Zhuge Munhyeon met the True Immortal, Master of Bosan Pavilion.

“But why did you seek me out?”

“I sensed Yeongmun’s barrier talisman being deployed.”

“Ah…”

When he had stopped by the Namgung Family, he had used spirit energy to gain their support as quickly as possible.

The barrier talisman was deployed at that time.

“You must have been nearby.”

“I was at the altar on Mount Putuo.”

“Ah, I see… What?”

Zhuge Munhyeon’s mind went blank for a moment and his eyes widened.

He wasn’t in Anhui?

That Mount Putuo I know?

In Zhejiang Province, if you go southeast for quite a while from the Zhoushan Archipelago at the tip of Hangzhou Bay…

Anyway, he’s talking about that island?

He’s saying he sensed the talisman’s activation from that distant place and came here.

There are legendary techniques called the Thousand-Eye Vision and Heavenly Ear Vision.

But while they say such things exist, he had never seen a human who actually achieved them.

‘B-but he’s an immortal… And a very powerful one at that.’

Without realizing it, Zhuge Munhyeon swallowed his saliva and could only blink his wide-open eyes, unable to continue speaking.

“Tsk, it seems you heard nothing from Yeongmun.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t misunderstand. Even the exalted ones with their karma mirrors and divine mirrors cannot observe all worldly affairs, so how could I know of your matters?”

Zhuge Munhyeon, feeling as if his mind had been read, scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.

Then what is it?

How did you know what happened in Anhui Province from the eastern tip of Zhejiang Province?

“Didn’t I clearly say I sensed Yeongmun’s barrier talisman being deployed?”

“Ah…”

“I merely imbued the barrier talisman with my spirit energy just in case. Yeongmun still has many shortcomings.”

Still, it was equally mysterious.

But even as he nodded, one worry arose.

‘Using spirit energy carelessly on people is supposed to be taboo…’

He might get in trouble for no reason.

Even though he had cast a barrier, he had used power on Namgung Family Head Namgung Cheongeuk, and despite their evil deeds, on Hwangbo Yun and his son.

“Hmm, truly a fellow with many worries.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s fine since you caused no harm. You didn’t greatly go against providence, nor did you harm others to take their power.”

…He really reads minds well.

But he felt relieved that he hadn’t violated any taboos.

“Let me ask you something.”

“Please speak.”

“What are you?”

“I’m Zhuge Munhyeon?”

“…”

“Since the year has changed, I’m nineteen years old, and my father uses the Zhuge surname with the characters Do and Yun…”

“Tsk!”

Huabuyuan made an expression of complete exasperation and clicked his tongue loudly, cutting off his words.

“Refrain from useless words in conversation with me. It could be the moment your life ends.”

“…”

Zhuge Munhyeon kept his mouth tightly shut and watched Huabuyuan’s mood.

Because it really seemed like he would.

The moment he clicked his tongue, he felt a chilling sensation as if his neck would be severed.

“What I wish to ask is why your exterior and contents do not match.”

“Pardon?”

“The years you’ve lived seem to exceed roughly a hundred. I’ve never seen such a thing, so in my curiosity, I observed rather than immediately intervening.”

“Ah…”

Huabuyuan stared intently at him with penetrating eyes as he asked.

Can immortals see past lives?

“How strange. You don’t seem like a wandering evil spirit that has possessed someone and stolen their skin… How exactly did such a thing come to pass?”

He seemed full of curiosity.

It seems even immortals don’t know everything.

“Explain it to me. Without lies.”

“Ah, well…”

He pondered for a moment.

How should he explain this?

Should he explain straightforwardly that he was originally the Heavenly Demon, but while cultivating the Ascension Method, he was reborn due to the schemes of that bastard Hyeoncheonja and retained his memories?

Or should he brush it off saying he doesn’t know what happened either?

After thinking about it for a long time, he reached the conclusion that he shouldn’t lie.

Those eyes that held emptiness.

It seemed like deception would be useless.

It also felt like he was already reading his inner thoughts.

“If I were to explain, it would be quite long. It’s something that started a very long time ago…”

“It doesn’t matter. For me, it would be about a hundred years that would pass after taking a nap.”

“…”

At the words that treated a hundred years as nothing significant, Zhuge Munhyeon unconsciously pursed his lips.

Must be nice to live long.

A hundred years in one nap.

“Actually, I was born with memories of my past life.”

“Hmm.”

Huabuyuan slowly nodded and listened attentively, and Zhuge Munhyeon began his story from when he went to Wudang Mountain to attempt ascension.

Meeting Hyeoncheonja after going to Wudang.

The Ascension Method he found by searching through the Central Plains.

And reincarnation.

The Destruction Method he learned in Hyeoncheonja’s Secret Cave, and the existence of Yo and Goe, and Half-Immortals.

Then meeting the Ascetic and death threads at Dongho Lake, followed by the Hwangyo of Aenoe Mountain and meeting Cheonggyeo.

When the long, long story ended, Huabuyuan nodded calmly without showing much surprise.

“…So that’s what happened.”

“…”

“But you’re mistaken about something.”

“Pardon?”

“Ascension to Immortality is nothing more than a vain concept created by people.”

“A vain concept?”

“That’s right.”

“No, what do you mean…”

“Yeongmun once asked me about that too. But I didn’t answer because it’s something he’ll understand when the time comes. The answer must be found by oneself.”

His head was in confusion.

Huabuyuan before him was certainly an Immortal, yet he said ascension was a vain concept created by people?

“What you call ascension is crossing multiple boundaries. It’s just that once you cross certain boundaries, you either don’t sink by yourself or cannot sink, so it’s called that. People tend to use their imagination about things they cannot see. But the Three Realms ultimately exist within the framework of All Under Heaven.”

His explanation was as ambiguous as a Taoist riddle.

Three Realms?

Does he simply mean three different worlds?

And they exist within the framework of All Under Heaven?

“Don’t worry about it. You won’t understand it right now, but since you’ve already set foot on the boundary, you’ll gradually realize it by seeing, hearing, and feeling.”

At those words, Zhuge Munhyeon, who had been pondering for a moment, changed his question.

“But why are you answering me?”

“Because you’ve already reached a certain level, but seem unable to find answers you should have found long ago.”

“Pardon?”

“Your level has reached the Qi Accumulation stage. You probably experienced soul separation.”

“That’s correct.”

“Usually, one realizes it then. Because you’ve crossed the boundary point.”

“But I didn’t realize anything?”

“Because you gained power through acquired means without being born with spiritual roots.”

“…I don’t understand what you mean. Are you saying those not born with it innately don’t know?”

“That’s right. Therefore, one must learn from someone. But you couldn’t do that.”

“…”

“There’s no need to worry. What those born with spiritual roots naturally realize can be said to be the natural order, like seeds that fall to the ground growing into flowers and withering. That’s not behavior taught by someone, is it?”

“Hmm…”

It was still somewhat unclear, but he understood it to mean that’s just how things were determined.

“Then do those born with spiritual roots unconditionally reach immortality?”

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“Providence is just providence. Do all trees become giant trees? There are countless cases of being broken before growing. They become firewood from a woodcutter’s axe or break in storms. Even if born with spiritual roots, no one can know their fate. Only those who carved out their own lives among them survive.”

“Ah…”

He could nod to those words.

Perhaps their lives were similar to those of humans too.

Everyone is born similarly, but how they live varies greatly depending on their attitude toward life.

Of course, not all those lives have high or low status.

They just head in different directions.

Therefore, one cannot judge which is better, which is noble, or which is happy.

Isn’t that a matter of individual perspective?

It’s just the difference between those who set different goals from others and achieved them, and those who didn’t.

‘Immortals must be the same. Just because someone doesn’t look toward higher places doesn’t mean it’s wrong. In the end, it’s just individual choice and effort.’

He was organizing his thoughts through Huabuyuan’s story.

“Your fate was probably decided at a crossroads of choice.”

“Pardon?”

“You said you entered Taiji Cave to ascend in your past life?”

“That’s correct.”

“That changed your fate.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Since you lived as a Murim person, I’ll explain accordingly. Just as there are Orthodox Faction, Demonic Path, and Unorthodox Faction in the human world, the world of immortals is similarly divided.”

“You mean factions?”

“That’s right.”

“Then they try to dominate the world against each other…”

“That’s a very human approach.”

“…”

“Immortals don’t dominate anything. They just crave to become stronger.”

“Isn’t that ultimately the same thing?”

“It’s different.”

“Pardon?”

“Immortals vaguely pursue greater strength. Because no one knows what exists at the end of it.”

“They don’t know?”

“That’s right. They don’t know. Therefore, they must become stronger. Because they might be devoured the moment they become weak.”

“Devoured?”

“That’s the natural order. The weak are prey for the strong.”

It was simply absurd.

Calling such a thing natural order.

“Therefore, the weak form groups and build power. It’s the same for the strong. Those who don’t form factions inevitably get devoured by something. Like that guy Cheonggyeo.”

“No, what kind of world is that…”

“You’ve already set foot in that place too.”

“…”

“Going back to explain, you shouldn’t have gone to Wudang Mountain then. Your disposition would have suited Yo and Goe better. If you had waited, they would have come to you… How could the Taoists have looked favorably upon you going to them?”

It felt like being struck in the head.

What he meant was.

“You’re saying they taught me the Destruction Method and killed me because they were afraid I’d become an opposing faction?”

“Yes.”

“No, does that make sense? You said it’s taboo for immortals to invade human boundaries?”

“Taboos aren’t omnipotent. Do you consider right and wrong when you step on and kill ants?”

“Th, that’s….”

“They’re all just nominal rules established for my needs. Of course, there are exceptions.”

“Then you’re saying good could also collapse the human world?”

“The Celestial Immortals would not permit such a thing. They do not wish for the balance to be broken.”

“Celestial Immortals?”

“That’s what we call those infinitely distant beings.”

It was all quite complicated.

What were these Celestial Immortals that even someone as powerful as Huabuyuan showed such wariness?

“In any case, you back then would have been a master strong enough to easily handle Yo and Gwi who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. You must have developed truly remarkable martial prowess that would make others hesitate to fight you.”

“Ah, well….”

“If a faction had intervened, things would have been different, but that would have created its own problems.”

Though his words seemed like praise yet not quite praise, I felt naturally pleased since he seemed to acknowledge that I possessed power comparable to those who had reached Foundation Establishment.

See that, you bastard Hyeoncheonja.

You lot called me Evil Seed and whatnot, but even Huabuyuan acknowledges that I’m such a remarkable person.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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