Chapter 400: Their Relationship (3)
Shaolin Temple.
Unlike the Wudang Sect, which had once collapsed, Shaolin had consistently maintained its influence as the pinnacle of Murim.
My first connection with Shaolin began when the previous Cult Leader was still alive, and I transferred the remains of Venerable Buddha Myeongjeong to Shaolin.
"Thank you for accepting the invitation, Venerable Monk. I didn't expect you to come in person."
"Given the nature of the matter, I had no choice. Heuheu…."
A frail, aged monk with a gentle expression lightly put his palms together in a respectful gesture.
After that, the Black Lotus Union successfully retreated to Luoyang without incident.
And just in time, Shaolin, upon receiving my invitation, sent someone to Luoyang.
Ryonju, Baek Sang-ah, bowed politely to the guest.
"Welcome to the Black Lotus Union, Venerable Myungun."
"Thank you for the warm welcome, Sword Empress Benefactor."
At the mention of ‘Sword Empress (劍后)’, Baek Sang-ah’s lips twitched slightly.
Though the mask hid it well, anyone who had known her for long would have easily noticed.
Naturally, her delight stemmed from the immense status of her counterpart.
Luohan One Seat, Myungun.
The guest was a significant figure—disciple of the Venerable Buddha Myeongjeong and former senior seat of the Hundred and Eight Luohans.
He was also the one who had once visited the Ten Thousand Mountain as Shaolin’s representative to retrieve Venerable Buddha Myeongjeong’s remains.
Venerable Myungun gave a faint smile and joined his palms together.
"Before arriving here, I took a brief look around the district. The people were vibrant and merchants were smiling as they conducted their trade."
I nodded, playing along lightheartedly.
"Though Luoyang is an ancient capital, it hasn’t regressed enough to lose its vitality."
"Hohohot! You're modest. But you know that’s not what I meant."
Venerable Myungun’s eyes gleamed with depth.
"I am well aware of how hellish the regions under the rule of the Evil Overlords of Heaven can be."
"……."
"When the Evil Overlords of Heaven settled in Qinghai Province, it took quite a long time for the chaos in that land to subside."
Compared to that, the Black Lotus Union, despite being a new demonic faction, was remarkably quiet.
One might even mistake it for a reputable orthodox sect just by its name.
I smirked and complimented Baek Sang-ah.
"It's all thanks to the Ryonju’s virtue."
"Huhuhu, it does appear so."
For a while, I exchanged pleasantries with Venerable Myungun, praising Baek Sang-ah.
How she opposed the Evil Overlords of Heaven without seeking anything in return, how even the prestigious orthodox sects extended their hands to the Black Lotus Union due to the Ryonju’s virtue, and so on….
"Ku, kuuuhng!"
Being pleased by compliments once or twice was fine, but as it went on, her expression gradually turned crimson.
Well, I was teasing her half on purpose, but my conversation with Myungun also carried a degree of political intent.
"Let me speak directly."
"Our Shaolin has decided to withdraw from the Murim Alliance and join the new alliance being established in Luoyang."
"Oooooh!"
Cheers erupted from the surroundings.
Especially Plum Blossom White Sword Jo Gongmyeong, who had come to the Black Lotus Union for the formation of the alliance, clenched his fists in joy.
If Shaolin and Bukcheon joined forces, the new alliance could even surpass the Murim Alliance in legitimacy.
"Thank you for making such a prompt and firm decision. However…"
I looked at Myungun with curiosity.
"A decision this swift could cost Shaolin greatly, given its proximity to the main body of the Murim Alliance. May I ask what led you to decide so quickly?"
Shaolin could have just declared support and joined gradually.
A drastic step like this benefited us, but for Shaolin, it was a hasty move.
Myungun closed his eyes slightly and spoke.
"Recently, unsettling incidents have been occurring near Mount Song."
"Unsettling incidents…?"
Not mere rumors, but actual incidents.
"Mysterious monsters have been appearing in the middle of the night, frequently attacking civilian homes."
"……?"
Some tilted their heads.
After all, being one of the Five Great Mountains, Mount Song was not unfamiliar with attacks by tigers or spiritual beasts.
But if someone like Venerable Myungun mentioned it, the damage couldn’t have been ordinary.
Having a hunch, I slightly furrowed my brows and spoke.
"So they aren’t spiritual beasts."
"Indeed. The Luohans personally went out and succeeded in killing one of the creatures, but…"
Venerable Myungun’s expression darkened.
"The creature’s appearance was grotesque beyond anything seen in the human realm."
Neither human nor beast, the sight still lingered in his eyes.
"It resembled something that would appear in a nonsense book like the Shanhaijing."
"……."
"……."
A few who knew the truth nodded, but most had expressions that said, ‘What does that even mean?’
"Benefactor, knowing the truth of the world is not limited to the Divine Cult or the Southern and Northern Families."
"I see."
"Shaolin is also aware that the Murim Alliance is going astray. More importantly…"
A tear welled up in the aged monk’s eye.
"As a senior brother who had once been driven by vengeance gave up his life to save you, Shaolin, which once served him as its head monk, has decided to honor his will until the end."
"Even if… the paths we walk are different."
I slowly stepped down and clasped Myungun’s hand.
"I will act in a way that you’ll never regret this."
"Wudang will join as well."
One month ago.
Wudang Sect, Hubei Province.
"Y-You wicked woman! How dare you defile Wudang’s sacred grounds?!"
"What? Wicked woman?"
Dao Zun, who had been savoring the air of Mount Wudang for the first time in decades, frowned at the sudden accusation from one of Wudang’s elders.
"I just wanted to indulge in the nostalgia of my return after so long…."
She opened her eyes wide and lunged at him.
"Alright, have a small taste of this wicked woman’s fist!"
The Wudang elder who tried to restrain Dao Zun was a superb swordsman who had reached the peak of mastery, but…
Whack! Whack! Whack!
He couldn’t react properly for even a second before being pummeled by her small fists.
"Ke-Keheok! Im, Immeasurable Temple Buddha! Immeasurable Temple Buddha!"
It didn’t take even half a beat before that elder ended up just like the dozen or so second and third-generation disciples sprawled around him.
“W-What is this?!”
Jeon Yang, one of the first-generation disciples of the Wudang Sect who had arrived late as reinforcements, was horrified by the disaster unfolding before his eyes.
Not only had the nearby disciples been turned into bloodied lumps, but even the revered Elder Gwansong had ended up in a similar state!
Ziiing!
“Y-You fiend, how dare you!”
Black and white energies began to spiral together along Jeon Yang’s sword.
“Oh? That’s the Tai Chi Sword, isn’t it?”
Dao Zun’s eyes gleamed with interest.
The Tai Chi Sword Art, the representative secret technique of Wudang.
“You haven’t yet reached the level where you can form the Jade Ring… but with refinement, it’s still usable.”
“Take this!”
Jeon Yang’s sword shot straight for Dao Zun’s forehead.
She gave a light smile and flicked one hand casually.
Along the motion, a Reverse Tai Chi opposite to Jeon Yang’s technique emerged.
Using the force of that Reverse Tai Chi, Dao Zun grasped the body of Jeon Yang’s sword effortlessly.
Thud!
Jeon Yang’s pupils dilated.
“H-How can you block the Tai Chi Sword… with your bare hands?!”
“Hm, are you the candidate for the next sect leader? Not bad.”
Regardless of Jeon Yang’s shock, Dao Zun evaluated his abilities as satisfactory.
And that evaluation wasn’t far from the truth.
Jeon Yang had indeed been chosen as a candidate for the next sect leader and was a clean martial artist with no ties to the Heaven-Defying Society.
It was at that moment.
“That’s far enough, Elder Jin Ryeong.”
A gentle elderly voice rang out from deep within the sect grounds.
Dao Zun recognized the speaker and gave a sly smile.
“Unhwi, you’re still alive? And behind you… Unjeong and Unho are there as well.”
Suddenly, three elderly men appeared.
Jeon Yang recognized their identities and gasped.
“H-Heavens! Sect Ancestors?!”
The Un-lineage.
They were elders not of the previous generation, but of the generation before that—most believed to have already ascended.
“With Elder still so vigorous, how could we ascend first?”
“E-Elder?!”
Jeon Yang’s jaw dropped.
If the revered sect ancestors were calling her Elder, then her seniority must be incredibly high…!
“There’s bite in your words.”
Dao Zun chuckled softly and clicked her tongue.
Originally, she had been of the same seniority as those three.
However, due to her ascending to the Transformation Realm as a first-generation disciple, she had skipped a rank in a groundbreaking promotion—that was the only difference.
“What brings a banished Elder like you back to Mount Wudang?”
“You swore you’d never return to Wudang again!”
Dao Zun spread her chest confidently, unbothered by their sharp tone.
“I’ve come to set Wudang right.”
“You? How dare you?”
“What shame do you have, criminal who bathed Wudang in blood and fled…!”
“You’re aware the current Sect Leader has gone missing, aren’t you?”
Flinch!
“The culprits are probably the ones you lot know very well.”
“…….”
“You won’t pretend otherwise, right? That man even rose to the rank of the Ten Heavenly Lords, so there’s no way you all weren’t involved.”
“So what do you expect us to do?”
“At this rate, Wudang will collapse. It will be toyed with by those bastards and fall into ruin.”
The expressions of the three elders darkened.
The disappearance of Gwan Hyun was a grave matter even for them.
Their quick appearance, despite usually staying deep within Wudang, was due to preparing for such contingencies.
“I will take the position of interim Sect Leader of Wudang.”
“What?! What right do you have?!”
“With this right.”
She pulled out a modest sword made of a pure white blade and a black hilt.
But the moment they saw that sword, they couldn’t maintain their composure.
“T-The Tai Chi Primal Sword…!”
The Tai Chi Primal Sword.
Also known as the Sect Leader’s Command Seal of Wudang.
It was the sacred object of the sect leader that vanished half a century ago along with the bloodbath caused by her.
“The current Sect Leader’s Seal must be a fake made after this one disappeared, right? With this, a new symbol can be established.”
“Nonsense!”
“You are merely a banished disciple!”
“Do you think Wudang will acknowledge you now?!”
“It doesn’t matter if they don’t.”
Ziiing!
Her ultimate technique, Ten Thousand Phase Tai Chi, began to resonate within the Tai Chi Primal Sword.
“If I suppress them with strength, that’s enough.”
“Strength? Strength, you say?!”
The three elders erupted in fury and charged at Jin Ryeong.
“Because of lacking that strength! Our ancestors allied with evil!”
“If you, the former senior disciple, had obediently risen to the Ten Heavenly Lords, Wudang could have held a glorious future!”
“You, who rejected that strength, are now trying to subdue Wudang with strength again?!”
“That strength and this strength are completely different.”
A faint sorrow flickered in her eyes.
“To think you still haven’t realized that—since then, you’ve learned nothing.”
If they had understood that truth, Wudang would never have allied with the Heaven-Defying Society again.
“I kept silent because I knew Gwan Hyun was acting solely for Wudang… but I’m glad I came. If people like you were to lead Wudang, it would’ve been ruined.”
Dao Zun effortlessly dodged the joint attack of the three and shouted a lion’s roar toward the elders and first-generation disciples beginning to gather.
“All of you, come at me! Today, I will trample you and stand above!”
“Advance! Eliminate the fiend disturbing the main sect!”
“We will restore Wudang’s disordered spirit!”
Thus began the clash between the eight hundred disciples of Wudang’s main sect and Dao Zun Jin Ryeong.
***
One month passed.
The Wudang Sect declared its withdrawal from the Murim Alliance and its intent to join the new alliance in Luoyang.