Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 79

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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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Episode 79. Don’t Live Like Me
—Hey, Simma.
‘Hm?’
Startled by the sudden call, Dan Yeop’s eyes snapped open.
He’d been deep in concentration on the Two Origins Return to One Art when a clear, bright voice sounded from beside him.
—It’s me. Just me.
Dan Yeop turned sharply to see a boy who looked exactly like him seated in a chair across a dark table.
‘Dunjae Dan Yeop?’
—Who’re you calling Dunjae? You’re the foolish one.
In that instant, a flood of possibilities rushed through Dan Yeop’s mind.
‘What? You said you were dying, but you were real all along?’
Seeing Dunjae Dan Yeop sitting there whole and unharmed, Dan Yeop jumped to a conclusion.
That Dunjae Dan Yeop was the real one, and he himself was nothing but a phantom created by him.
—What’re you talking about, you idiot? Don’t you remember? I didn’t make you. You made me.
‘That doesn’t make sense. I made you? I’m the one who fell into Demonic Possession Deviation while learning the Divided Mind Art, not you.’
—Long before you ever learned the Divided Mind Art, you created me. Think about it.
‘Me? When?’
—Our mother would try to kill you the moment your eyes met. You were so terrified that you created me and hid behind me.
‘I did that?’
—Yes. It was so long ago you probably don’t remember, but that’s what happened.
The moment Dan Yeop heard Dunjae Dan Yeop speak with such certainty, he knew.
That every word was the truth.
‘I’m sorry. For burdening you with something so difficult.’
—There’s nothing to apologize for. I would’ve done the same if I were you. Odd way to put it, isn’t it? Ha ha.
‘So what happens to you now?’
—Naturally, I’ll remain in your memory.
‘In my memory? Thank goodness.’
—You think it’s lucky? You’ll remember everything Mother did, clear as day. Except for Master Baek, there was nothing good in my life.
‘Master Baek meant that much to you?’
—The very best. I was grateful just to be born because of him. Maybe I was able to forgive Mother because of Master Baek. If he hadn’t given birth to me, I would never have met him.
‘I didn’t know you felt that strongly about Master Baek.’
—Neither did I. I regretted it so much later. Don’t repeat my mistakes. That’s why—drop the Celibacy Art right now.
‘Actually, it’s not really the Celibacy Art. My master gave me a Response Qi Pill, and I need time to absorb it fully. He said I had to maintain my virginity to absorb it completely.’
—You had a master?
‘Yes, in the Terracotta Army Tomb…’
Dan Yeop poured out to Dunjae Dan Yeop everything that had happened in the Terracotta Army Tomb.
Dunjae Dan Yeop listened with widened eyes and then spoke.
—You really are an extraordinary man. Just hearing about it makes my heart swell. You could unite all of Haowen in the Ten Paths and become the Supreme Sect Leader.
‘You think so?’
—Do it. Become the Supreme Sect Leader. Show Na Bugang and Na Geumryeong how remarkable a person you are. Do you know what Na Geumryeong said about me?
Dunjae Dan Yeop relayed to Simma every detail of what Na Geumryeong had recently said to him.
After talking at length, Dunjae Dan Yeop spoke suddenly.
—My time is running out now.
‘… Farewell. I’ll unite all of Haowen in the Ten Paths and become the Supreme Sect Leader, just as you said.’
—That’s right. Don’t live like me.
‘What do you mean, the way you—’
Dan Yeop couldn’t finish his words.
Dunjae Dan Yeop was dissolving into sparks of light.
Soon the sparks were drawn into Dan Yeop’s body.
‘What?’
He had no time to react.
Suddenly a brilliant flash erupted before his eyes, and everything turned to pitch darkness.
As Dan Yeop looked around in bewilderment, not understanding what sorcery had occurred,
points of light began to appear in the blackness, one by one.
And soon they transformed into a night sky.
Dan Yeop suddenly recalled the incantation of the Taeul Original Star Binding Formula.
—When you quietly illuminate the Dantian, the starry heaven shines within it.
Looking again, it was unmistakably a starlit sky.
He’d been cultivating the Two Origins Return to One Art, so he couldn’t understand why a night sky had appeared.
‘This night sky visible before my eyes—is it my Dantian?’
It couldn’t be.
His dantian, if one had to draw a comparison, was nothing more than a well.
The night sky reflected in a well and the night sky visible to his eyes were worlds apart.
‘What is this?’
A galaxy drifted before him as if within reach, and stars of every hue flickered in and out of existence.
‘Could it be……’
A conversation with his master brushed through Dan Yeop’s mind.
―According to Taego Sect tradition, the ninety-nine Jade Fragments contain the secrets of the Hunwon Seongjin.
―What is the Hunwon Seongjin?
―’Hunwon’ means the primordial force, and ‘Seongjin’ means the celestial order. The ninety-nine jade pieces contain both the beginning and end of the universe. I have trained for tens of thousands of years in the Stone Coffin, yet I could not unlock the secret. It may well be some peculiar prank of the Sage Kings from the mythic age, so simply keep it in mind.
The starry sky spread before his eyes seemed unmistakably to be the Hunwon Seongjin his master had spoken of.
‘Could it really be the Hunwon Seongjin?’
What had he done to reveal what lay hidden even after tens of thousands of years of cultivation by a Divine Being like his master?
Dan Yeop recited the incantation of the Taeul Original Star Binding Formula on a whim.
In an instant, the starry sky that had unfolded before his eyes vanished as if it had been a lie.
Startled, Dan Yeop’s eyes flew open without thinking.
He lay flat on his back on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling.
Sometime in the night it had become morning, and the dark window outside now blazed with light.
***
Geomnam Province.
Geomgak District.
Geomgak.
Cheongeom Hall.
Cheongeom Hall was where the Lord of Geomgak resided. Two old swordsmen with whitened beards sat facing each other there.
They were Baek Muyeong, Lord of Geomgak, and Hwang Cheongang, the Deputy Law Enforcer and Flying Immortal Swordsman.
“……There is a wanderer named Go Geomhaeng who is teaching martial arts at Haowen in our jurisdiction, and it is said he hails from Geomgak. We should verify whether this is true.”
“Among the disciples who left our sect, was there anyone connected to Haowen?”
“No one. It seems one of those who fled because they couldn’t endure the training made his way to Haowen.”
“You said Cheongseong Sect brought this to light?”
“Cheongseong Sect received the information from Heaven’s Way Association. Since there is no direct correspondence between Geomgak and Heaven’s Way Association, it appears the report came through Cheongseong Sect.”
Geomgak maintained independence and did not exchange messages with the Five Sacred Sword Sects, but Cheongseong Sect maintained communication with Heaven’s Way Association through official channels in their bid to become part of the Five Sacred Sword Sects.
“Can we trust the information from Heaven’s Way Association?”
“We’ll need to investigate, but it doesn’t seem to be false. There’s no apparent reason for Heaven’s Way Association to do such a thing suddenly.”
“Do you believe Heaven’s Way Association acted out of pure intention?”
“It seems to be because of Haowen.”
“Haowen?”
Last year, didn’t Haowen launch an invasion into Hadong Province, declaring they would unify the Haowens of the Ten Paths?
“But they did not cross into Hadong Province and withdrew again, did they not?”
It was due to the limits of their martial prowess. If a master from Geomgak lent his aid, their dream might come to pass.
“So they reported this to us in order to prevent that?”
If Geomgak purges its sect, Haowen will naturally collapse as well.
“You would use a borrowed knife to kill?”
Since we must purge the sect, from our position we have no choice but to follow through once we know.
If he truly is from Geomgak, it seems excessive to send a departed disciple merely to purge one person.
There is one suitable candidate, however.
Who? Someone who can go alone and purge the sect?
The Heartless Sword, Naeng Hansang.
Ah! The Heartless Sword.
An exclamation escaped Baek Muyeong’s lips.
Naeng Hansang was the maternal cousin of the Number One Swordsman Under Heaven and a celebrated disciple of Geomgak, though he had not formally entered the sect.
Nevertheless, Naeng Hansang’s presence in Geomnam Province rivaled that of the senior masters of the Five Sacred Sword Sects.
“The only question is whether Naeng Hansang will accept our proposal.”
This was said because Naeng Hansang kept his distance from Geomgak.
“But he will listen to his master. Let us entrust the purge to Muhun’s private teacher. What do you say?”
Indeed! If Muhun’s master asks, Naeng Hansang cannot refuse.
Satisfaction bloomed across both men’s faces.
Considering Geomgak’s honor, Naeng Hansang was precisely the right choice for the purge.
***
Naeng Hansang was not an easy man.
To Muhun’s request, he had replied, “I will consider it once the season turns.”
Perhaps it was only natural.
After all, one couldn’t travel all the way to Jangan City in the depths of winter merely to settle a sect’s internal affairs.
“Uncle, but who exactly is this Go Geomhaeng?”
“I asked around among disciples of that age, and it seems he’s someone who failed at the Six Barriers and fled.”
“Six Barriers—so he must have some skill to his name.”
“But that was more than thirty years ago now, so don’t let your guard down.”
“Even so, he must have spent all those years wandering as a solitary swordsman. The sword arts of wanderers are predictable enough.”
“True enough, yet what troubles me is that no one knows his school or lineage.”
“How many schools have been lost to time within Geomgak? Don’t trouble yourself over it. Had he possessed any worthwhile swordsmanship, the disciples of Geomgak wouldn’t have turned their backs on him.”
“I suppose you’re right, but…”
“Uncle, I am Naeng Hansang of the Emotionless Sword. Once you release me, I’ll go straight away and bring back Go Geomhaeng’s head.”
Naeng Hansang, the Emotionless Swordsman, declared this with supreme confidence.
Muhun, the previous generation’s Sword Immortal, let out a soft chuckle at his nephew’s bold proclamation.
Had it been anyone else, he would have sternly cautioned them against overconfidence.
But Naeng Hansang possessed the skill to back up his boldness.
***
Spring had come, yet it did not feel like spring.
Throughout the empire, high officials died like mayflies.
Beginning with Li Deming, Vice Inspector of Anxidoho, the Provincial Inspectors and Magistrates of Nongwu, Yongnam, Sannam, Hanam, and Huinam were all assassinated.
In Kangnam Province especially, the Provincial Inspector, Magistrate, and District Magistrate all perished within a month of one another.
The Emperor immediately appointed successors, but Kangnam Province was an exception.
Everyone refused the posting there.
No one was ignorant of the fact that Cheonryeon now wielded influence over Kangnam Province.
Cunningly, Cheonryeon had not launched an armed rebellion; instead, they murdered the officials appointed by the Emperor in plain sight.
The Emperor tried to mobilize his armies to suppress them, but because Cheonryeon operated as a cell organization, the effort came to nothing.
Hyeolje was the only master of Cheonryeon known to exist, but he proved as impossible to catch as a whale in the depths of the sea.
Even if one were somehow to capture Hyeolje, the unease would remain unchanged.
There was no guarantee that Cheonryeon in Kangnam Province consisted of only one man.
Thus the atmosphere in the imperial palace had grown grave.
Yet the eastern and western markets of Jangan City still bustled with vitality.
In truth, most commoners knew nothing of the deaths among the high officials.
Had no proclamation been posted throughout Baekpal Quarter, they would have lived on in ignorance.
Early morning, the hour of the snake—nine o’clock.
As Dan Yeop made his way to the gathering place as usual, he stopped before a notice board.
Beneath the sketch of one man and one woman was written: “Servants of Cheonryeon, traitors who murdered the District Magistrate of Nagan.”
Curious, he examined the faces closely when someone spoke from behind him.
“Looks like you’ve been tempted by the fifty-silver bounty, but you’ll lose your head doing that.”
Dan Yeop turned to see a middle-aged wanderer standing there.
“Will you be capturing them, sir?”
“Capturing what? Didn’t you hear me? You’ll lose your head doing that.”
“Lose my head where exactly, sir? You’re acting rather suspicious.”
“Don’t you know that Cheonryeon has eyes everywhere? Loiter in front of a proclamation like this, and they’ll cut you down from behind.”
“So you’re not capturing them, then?”
“I haven’t the skill to capture anyone. Do you know how formidable the swordsmanship of the Nagan magistrate was? He could defeat heretical masters in combat. The magistrate and three soldiers all fell in the same place—what chance would I have? Looking at you, you don’t seem like much yourself, so give it up. Don’t be foolish and get yourself cut down alongside their followers.”
“They have followers?”
“If Cheonryeon were truly alone, how could they have survived this long? Nonsense. You remind me of my dead brother, so I’m telling you this—listen well.”
“Looking at you, sir, I doubt your brother and I resemble each other much.”
“That’s because I had an outer uncle while my brother had a maternal uncle, so that’s how it is.”
“Ah, I see.”
As Dan Yeop gave a perfunctory nod and turned to walk away,
the man’s voice came from behind him.
“Remember my words. I’m telling you this truly for your own sake.”
Dan Yeop felt something odd about the encounter and turned to look back.
But the man had vanished as if he’d never been there.

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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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