Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 358

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 358
Chapter 1
Cheong Heo Jinperson chuckled softly.
-“Passed through,” you say? Most would describe it as “breaking through.” How peculiar.
“To me, it was merely a passage.”
A glimmer of intrigue kindled in Cheong Heo Jinperson’s eyes.
-“Fascinating. The trials I created were far from ordinary, yet you call it merely a passage…”
“If I have been disrespectful, I offer my apologies.”
-“Not disrespect—honesty. And that, I appreciate.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson regarded Seol Woon-hwi slowly.
-“You seem to have something on your mind. Do speak.”
I had traversed countless Secret Realms throughout my existence.
In my previous life and in this one alike.
While I had encountered Thought Entities many times, I had met only two that possessed complete consciousness—exactly two.
The first was the Eminent Monk, whom I met in the Secret Realm of Shaolin Temple.
The second was Jeok Ma Dae-gun, whom I encountered in the Secret Realm of Seong Lim Mountain.
And now, Cheong Heo Jinperson.
It was beyond peculiar—it bordered on absurdity.
Something I had never witnessed once in my previous life, I was now experiencing three times in this one.
“Thought Entities appearing in Secret Realms are rare, but not unheard of. The issue is that most such entities lack consciousness. Yet you possess complete awareness.”
-“So you are curious about this.”
“Yes.”
-“But I cannot explain. I too am bound by ‘many things’ I cannot speak of.”
“…”
-“Why would a Thought Entity be a Thought Entity? There are certain matters I can address, and from those, you must deduce what you can. That is all I can offer.”
“I understand.”
-“Hmm. You are remarkably swift in your comprehension.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson’s gaze shifted toward Manager Seong.
He still held his Hidden Dagger trained on Cheong Heo Jinperson, and the sight seemed to amuse him greatly, for he smiled gently.
-“There is no need to keep your companion on guard. My consciousness cannot attack—I can only converse.”
When I nodded toward Manager Seong, he finally lowered his Hidden Dagger.
Cheong Heo Jinperson turned his attention back to me.
-“I must reiterate—your speed of understanding is remarkable. You do not seem to walk the path of Daoism, nor do you seem devoted to Buddhism, yet how do you possess such profound Enlightenment?”
“There seems little reason for me to answer that.”
-“Heh… your nature is quite singular. I too have cultivated the Way and understand the principles of things reasonably well.”
I regarded Cheong Heo Jinperson in silence as he spoke.
All historical records from the era when Thousand Year Chaos unfolded had vanished.
Yet the curiosity of martial artists could not be suppressed, so various individuals had attempted to reconstruct what happened by gathering information from Secret Realms and piecing together tales that circulated in the world. To some extent, records had been preserved. As I had mentioned before, I had described Cheong Heo Jinperson as a martial artist of Great Void Formless.
Perhaps because the Cheongseong Sect had so little information, but now that I saw him clearly, Cheong Heo Jinperson was nothing less than Primordial Sole Existence itself.
Cheong Heo Jinperson raised his hand and traced something in the empty air. A pattern of azure light materialized.
-I wish to ask. What do you believe the Way is?
It was an abrupt question.
But Seol Woon-hwi was not flustered.
“The Way is a path.”
-A path?
“Yes. It is the path all things traverse, and the path by which all things return.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson smiled.
-Then where does the path end?
“There is no end.”
-If there is no end, how can it be called a path?
“Because there is no end, it is a path. If there were an end, it would merely be a dead end.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson’s eyes gleamed.
-Excellent. Then I ask this: The Daodejing states that the Way that can be spoken is not the eternal Way. Yet you have just spoken of the Way. Does that not mean what you spoke is not the Way?
Seol Woon-hwi chuckled softly.
“Laozi composed the Daodejing.”
-Indeed.
“The Daodejing is writing. Writing is the transcription of speech.”
-….
“In other words, Laozi spoke of the Way. Yet if the Way can be spoken, it is not the eternal Way. Therefore, the Way that Laozi spoke of would also not be the eternal Way.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson exclaimed in admiration.
-Ah! Then is the Daodejing false?
“It is not false. Laozi said from the beginning: the Way that can be spoken is not the eternal Way. In other words, he knew that what he himself spoke was not the true Way.”
-Then why did he compose the Daodejing?
“Because the true cannot be spoken, he showed the false instead. Like a finger pointing at the moon.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson laughed heartily.
-Indeed! A finger pointing at the moon… The finger is not the moon, yet without the finger, one cannot see the moon.
“Precisely.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson asked again.
-Then what is Non-action?
“It is not doing nothing.”
-Then?
“It is refraining from forced action.”
-Refraining from forced action?
“It is not going against the natural flow. Just as water flows from high to low, it is following that principle.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson nodded.
-Good. Then I ask: what are you doing now?
“I am traversing the Secret Realm.”
-Is that the natural flow?
“It is not.”
-Then are you not failing to practice Non-action?
Seol Woon-hwi paused in thought, then answered.
“Wu Wei is not about doing nothing, but about refraining from forced action.”
-That is correct.
“I did not come here by force. I came because it was necessary, and because fate brought me here. Is this not also the natural flow of things?”
Cheong Heo Jinperson spoke with admiration.
-Indeed, indeed. Then I shall ask my final question.
He gazed directly at Seol Woon-hwi.
-Who are you?
Seol Woon-hwi fell silent.
This was no simple question. It was a fundamental inquiry into identity, into the very nature of existence.
After a long moment of contemplation, Seol Woon-hwi spoke.
“I am merely a human, one who writes my name with the characters for Seol and Woon-hwi.”
-That alone is not a sufficient answer.
“I believe it is. After all, your question was ultimately about foundation and essence, was it not?”
-Hmm….
“It seems you desire a more complete answer. Then allow me to elaborate. The essence of who I am now, who I was before, and who I shall be hereafter—all remain the same. The only difference is one thing: form.”
-….
“Form may change in countless ways, but essence never does.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson laughed heartily.
-Magnificent! Truly magnificent!
He clapped his hands, and the stone statues of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation began to emit light.
-The reason I left this consciousness behind was simple: to find the true successor of the Cheongseong Sect.
“A successor, you say….”
-The Cheongseong Sect was annihilated during the Thousand Year Chaos. Yet I knew that one day, someone would arise to restore the Cheongseong Sect.
Cheong Heo Jinperson approached Seol Woon-hwi.
-That person need not possess overwhelming martial power. They must understand the Way. For the Cheongseong Sect was a school of Daoism before it was a martial sect.
He raised his hand and placed it upon Seol Woon-hwi’s forehead.
-You need not rebuild the Cheongseong Sect. But you understand the Way. That alone is sufficient.
A blue light flowed from Cheong Heo Jinperson’s hand, seeping into Seol Woon-hwi’s mind.
-I shall impart all the martial arts of the Cheongseong Sect: the Cheongseong Sword Technique, the Great Clarity Divine Art, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden Scripture, and….
The light grew increasingly intense.
-The enlightenment of all past Sect Masters of the Cheongseong Sect.
Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes widened. An enormous torrent of information poured into his mind.
Sword techniques, divine arts, mental methods, formation techniques, alchemical cultivation….
A thousand years of the Cheongseong Sect’s history was being transmitted in its entirety.
-How you use this is your own choice. You may rebuild the Cheongseong Sect, or simply make it your own martial arts.
Cheong Heo Jinperson’s form began to fade gradually.
-But I ask one thing of you.
“Please, speak.”
-Do not forget the Way. No matter how your martial power grows, do not abandon the Way. For the Way is both beginning and end, the foundation of all things.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Cheong Heo Jinperson smiled.
-And… have you ever encountered a Thought Entity like myself?
“Yes, I have.”
-Would you be willing to tell me who?
I answered without hesitation.
“The Eminent Monk and Jeok Ma Dae-gun.”
At those words, Cheong Heo Jinperson’s eyes widened considerably.
-…The Eminent Monk… and Jeok Ma Dae-gun… It seems you are indeed no ordinary being.
Something felt peculiar.
The Eminent Monk was Shaolin’s final Sect Master and the Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance who had held back the Thousand Year Demon Cult for centuries during the Thousand Year Chaos.
Surely all of the Murim would have respected him, yet strangely, there was a hint of hostility in Cheong Heo Jinperson’s tone.
-…Now I see you do not know.
“What is it that I do not know?”
-You must have received something from the Eminent Monk. What conversation did you have with him?
“We had a conversation similar to this one.”
-Then did you also learn why the Thousand Year Chaos occurred?
Seol Woon-hwi shook his head.
Though other erased histories were being pieced together in various ways, there was one thing no one could be certain of.
Why did the Thousand Year Chaos occur in the first place?
Was it the Martial Alliance’s resistance against the Thousand Year Demon Cult, which had already unified the Murim?
How could such a thing have lasted for centuries?
It was absolutely not a simple matter, yet not a single soul in this world knew the answer.
No one had even attempted to uncover it. It was impossible to know.
Because no evidence remained.
-There were two water dragons who chose to destroy the world to become true dragons. One was the sky of demons, and the other was the sky of righteousness.
Seol Woon-hwi fell silent.
Manager Seong also fell silent. Rather, he did not even breathe.
-The martial artists of this current age, you see, cannot ascend to the Innate Three Realms unless ‘his’ great work succeeds. This applies to you as well.
“…I do not understand. Could you explain in more detail?”
Cheong Heo Jinperson shook his head.
-I already told you. Even if I wanted to, I cannot reveal much. Remember this one thing: do not forget the Way we discussed with the old one earlier.
“You spoke of ‘his great work,’ but who is he and what is this great work?”
-The great work refers to the task of restoring the ‘Heavenly Energy and Earthly Energy’ of this disordered world, and ‘he’ is Baek Do-cheon, the Vice Sect Leader of the Thousand Year Demon Cult.

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