Reincarnation Sword God

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Even with the Immortal Body of the Ten Thousand Poisons, I felt little excitement.

‘Have I really faced any trouble because of poison until now…?’

So far, the only advice I’ve received was to be cautious of Poison Demon among the Eight Demons of Martial Daos. That’s why it didn’t feel real to me. Mangnyang let out a chuckle and said,

“There are many factions in Jianghu that use poison besides the Four Talents Sect. Officially, using poison is considered cowardly, but conversely, there’s no easier method to suppress an opponent.”

“Hmm…”

“Since you have developed resistance after consuming the Great Demon’s spirit pill, you won’t be affected by most poisons anymore. It can even be called the Immortal Body of the Ten Thousand Poisons.”

Mangnyang appeared genuinely pleased about it. This meant my current achievement was significant. I nodded and replied,

“I now have absolute confidence in defeating Lee Kwang.”

Typically, if I were to compete against him, I would only achieve a slight edge. This is because my pressure through inner strength wouldn’t work due to Lee Kwang’s mental fortitude, and my enlightenment in the martial arts was not significantly ahead of his. However, after enhancing my internal energy twice with the Sacred Lotus and the Poisonous Pill, the power of my attacks would have drastically changed. If we were to clash openly, Lee Kwang would likely struggle just to withstand my attacks.

Mangnyang looked at me and remarked,

“Even so, there are still formidable masters in Jianghu. In particular, you must be cautious of the Dharma Protector.”

“I know.”

The Heavenly Spirit Pillar of the Dharma Protector!

That was a tremendous power that transformed the Dharma Protector from an ordinary martial artist into a devastating divine warrior employed for war. Being able to unleash infinite internal energy meant that even if one used energy recklessly, their recovery rate would be far greater. To challenge the possessor of the Heavenly Spirit Pillar, one needed either exceptionally high enlightenment in martial arts or to possess an equal Heavenly Spirit Pillar.

‘I must obtain the Heavenly Spirit Pillar in this life.’

If the leader assigned us the mission and the three of us could acquire the Heavenly Spirit Pillar, many things would change from that point on. Moreover, simply uncovering the secrets of the Heavenly Spirit Pillar would mean no longer having to rely on the White Lotus Sect in future lives, right?

While I pondered over such thoughts, Mangnyang suggested,

“Then let’s go for now.”

“Understood. To Jinrang Valley then…”

“No. Let’s head to the Southern Continent where the Huayo is.”

“Huh? Alright.”

The sudden mention of the Southern Continent threw me, but I decided to follow Mangnyang’s lead regardless.

Pah!

Upon arriving at the Southern Continent, Mangnyang instructed,

“Find a native and subdue one to bring back.”

“Hmm… Understood. I’ll go look.”

I heightened my senses to search for a place in the vast land where a native might be located. Fortunately, it didn’t take long since we were near a native village I had visited before. After finding a solitary native and incapacitating him with blood control, I brought him in front of Mangnyang, who looked on with gleaming eyes while the native’s gaze was wide with fear.

Buuuuuu…

Mangnyang slowly placed his hand on the native’s forehead and concentrated. Soon, a murky aura began to flow out from the native’s forehead. This energy gradually seeped out, and Mangnyang began to sweat beads, still focused.

After about half a meal’s time passed, the murky energy fully escaped the native’s forehead and was absorbed into Mangnyang’s palm. He sighed and said,

“Now, let him go.”

I followed Mangnyang’s instruction, letting the native lose consciousness and placing him back down. Mangnyang turned to me and explained,

“What I just did was extract the Soul from the native’s body using the Separation of Yin and Yang Technique.”

“Hmm!”

I was taken aback.

“Already at the application stage?”

Mangnyang and I had started practicing the Separation of Yin and Yang Technique simultaneously. But while I was still at the basic training stage, he had already grasped the essence and was utilizing advanced methods. Mangnyang replied, as if it were the most casual thing,

“With Ji-seon Mangnyang’s skills and experience, this much is simple.”

“……”

Yet I couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for me to grasp this.

While I was grumbling internally, Mangnyang continued,

“The reason why we practice extracting the Soul at the beginner level repeatedly is that it’s both the start and end of the Separation of Yin and Yang Technique. Understanding the principle enhances the speed of accomplishment. Thus, I came here to explain it to you, Baek Woong.”

“Ah!”

Mangnyang was focused on speeding up my progress. By mastering the Separation of Yin and Yang Technique himself and then providing me with a lecture, he aimed to help me. After all, asking the Zhuge Clan for a detailed explanation would be futile, as Zhuge Clan Leader wouldn’t explain kindly like Mangnyang did to someone he considered a dullard.

As I concentrated my mind and listened to Mangnyang, he stated,

“Right now, I’ve just extracted the Soul from that native, absorbed it, and am controlling it. This means once I learn to manipulate this Soul, I can monitor the native’s heart and spirit.”

“I see.”

“Extracting the Soul is the beginner stage, manipulating the Soul is the intermediate stage, and the last stage is moving the Spirit using the Soul.”

I tilted my head at his words.

“Moving the Spirit using the Soul? What do you mean?”

“Hmm… Have you heard this saying? The Book of Rites mentions that the Soul returns to Heaven, and the Body returns to the Earth (魂氣歸于天, 形魄歸于地). In other words, when a person dies, the Soul ascends as the essence while the Body is absorbed back into the Earth.”

Mangnyang’s eyes lit up.

“The Soul is the driving force that supports the Spirit.”

“Hmm…”

At that moment, I felt a strange notion arise and said,

“Wait a moment. When you mentioned ‘driving force,’ you extracted the Soul from the native and absorbed it, right? Does that put the native’s life in jeopardy?”

“That’s quite interesting. When extracting the Spirit, the living being suffers great damage, but the Body doesn’t. Even if you extract the Body, there’s always a constant amount of it regenerating, enveloping the Spirit.”

“……!!”

“It’s a different concept from vitality.”

After explaining, Mangnyang continued,

“I absorbed the native’s Body, but I still lack the technique to manipulate it, so I cannot subdue his Spirit yet. However, if it were Zhuge Clan Leader, extracting the Body would be quicker, and he would likely be able to monitor the Spirit as well.”

“That seems reasonable.”

“And once you reach the advanced stage, moving the Spirit using the Body…”

Drawing in the dirt with a twig, Mangnyang made two circles in the ground. Pointing at the smaller circle he drew within the larger circle, he explained,

“The truth is that if the opposing Spirit does not respond, no matter how much a human uses their martial arts, they cannot move the Spirit itself.”

“Whaaat!”

“Though Taoism has countless techniques and mystical arts, the same principle applies. To attract a Spirit, one needs an absurdly strong martial force. Even in the case of summoning, it simply means paving a path and creating a slope for it to roll in, it doesn’t possess the strength of attraction. Doing it without the other party’s consent is even more impossible.”

“Hmmm…”

“That’s why in the Separation of Yin and Yang Technique, instead of moving the Spirit, we move the Body surrounding the Spirit. When the Body, the driving force, moves, the Spirit will naturally follow.”

“I think I understand.”

Mangnyang nodded, saying,

“When Qi disperses, the Spirit and Body respond accordingly. That’s the essence of the Separation of Yin and Yang Technique.”

“……?”

At that moment, a peculiar sense of déjà vu washed over me. Soon after, I recognized where I had experienced this sensation.

[Baek Woong, what do you consider Qi to be?]

[Throughout my countless training to reach the peak of martial arts, I came to realize one thing: my attainment of the Original Spirit Body didn’t originate from the Void, or Primordial Void.]

[The Primordial Void refers to Qi. The Primordial Dimension is Qi; the scattered appearance of Qi is the Primordial Void.]

“……!!”

I was struck by a revelation.

‘It’s similar to what the Leader of the White Lotus Sect said!’

Somehow, the principles and techniques that Mangnyang had taught me with the Separation of Yin and Yang Technique resonated with the martial rationale I had discussed with the Leader of the White Lotus Sect, didn’t they? Particularly the part about the scattered appearance of Qi evoked a strange sense of alignment.

How could this be? One person had reached an absolute realm in martial arts, while the other was versed in the sorcery of heresy. Yet, oddly enough, I sensed a commonality.

Baek Woong gave me a puzzled look.

“Baek Woong, what’s wrong?”

“Mangnyang! The Leader of the White Lotus Sect said something similar.”

I quickly recounted the conversation I had with the Leader of the White Lotus Sect, or rather, conveyed the ideas the Leader had unraveled through his teachings regarding martial rationale. Mangnyang listened seriously and then remarked,

“How strange… The concept of the Primordial Dimension being Qi was first introduced by the scholar Hengqu of the Northern Song Dynasty. However, that concept has nothing to do with martial arts; it’s a Dao in Confucianism. Also, the mention of the Primordial Dimension more closely resembles the thoughts of Wang Shouren.”

“Wang Shouren?”

“He is an excellent scholar in his old age.”

After a moment’s thought, Mangnyang continued,

“Wang Shouren is the founder of the Yangming School, which explores subjective practical philosophy in Confucianism. He stands as a critic against Zhu Xi’s school of thought, mainly focusing on the concept of Heart is Reason.”

“Heart is Reason?”

“It gets complex the deeper you dig, so I’ll explain it next time. It’s a topic only a scholar who has studied Confucianism for years would understand.”

Mangnyang briefly paused and then tilted his head.

“However, the principles discussed in the Yangming School or Zhu Xi’s thought relate less to martial arts and more to the perspective of moral principles concerning new states and societal visions. The concept of the Primordial Dimension, as proposed by Hengqu of the Northern Song, isn’t too different either. The fact that the Leader of the White Lotus Sect spoke of it is quite peculiar.”

“Is the Qi from Confucianism different?”

“It’s somewhat different. If they were the same, all Confucian scholars would be martial arts masters.”

Thinking for a moment, Mangnyang added,

“I believe the term Primordial Void is likely more significant than Qi.”

“Primordial Void?”

“The Primordial Void is described as the form of scattered Qi. Perhaps the Leader of the White Lotus Sect, through refining his martial arts to a profound level, came to think of the Primordial Void not as an imaginary concept but as a reality. That’s why he may have used a metaphor to convey that concept to you.”

“Um… But why?”

I was utterly perplexed,

“Why would he, with such an advanced concept, suddenly share it with someone who lacks talent like me?”

“……”

Mangnyang gazed at me intently before saying,

“… The Leader of the White Lotus Sect might have sensed something in you. Past that point, I can’t know.”

“Hmm…”

The Leader of the White Lotus Sect truly is enigmatic. Each statement he makes is layered with meaning. Mangnyang shook his head and declared,

“Let’s leave the discussion of the martial rationale for Jinrang Valley and present it to Jin So-cheong. If anyone can research that martial rationale and yield results, it would be him.”

“I understand.”

Pah!

We returned to Jinrang Valley and discussed it with Jin So-cheong. He pondered over the Leader of the White Lotus Sect’s words and then said,

“I’m rather concerned about something else.”

“Something else?”

“Four Disasters.”

Jin So-cheong interlocked his fingers as he continued,

“The Buddhist worldview states that the Three Thousand Great Worlds undergo cycles of Success Period, Reigning Period, Destruction Period, and Emptiness Period. Also, the term ‘Disaster’ refers to an unimaginable, enormous span of time, indicating that as the universe repeats, the Buddha saves humanity, a notion I heard about some time ago.”

“Hmm, that’s somewhat similar to what the Heavenly Secret Technique describes in its seasonal perspective of the universe…”

“I don’t know much, but maybe the perspectives of both Buddhism and Taoism regarding reincarnation are not all that different.”

Jin So-cheong’s musings continued.

“The fact that understanding the Primordial Void leads to the Four Disasters strikes me as significant. Despite his martial proficiency, he has a spiritual inclination, and the White Lotus Sect shares roots with Buddhism. I suspect the concept of the Four Disasters holds substantial meaning.”

“What sort of meaning?”

“Well, that’s something I can’t determine. What is clear is that one cannot know the Four Disasters without first understanding the Primordial Void.”

“……”

Primordial Void!

The unexpected appearance of this concept left me with an odd sensation. A fleeting thought crossed my mind.

‘The Leader asserted that transcending humanity through interpreting the words of the Undying Mother would grant one unmatched strength. Could it be that the text of that scripture includes details about the Primordial Void?’

Spurred by this thought, I inquired of Mangnyang,

“Mangnyang, do you think the scripture of the Undying Mother is also a kind of demonic text?”

“Hmm… I don’t think it’s a demonic text.”

Mangnyang replied calmly.

“A demonic text usually contains forbidden knowledge related to the ‘Ancient Ruler,’ inscribed by a different race. Typically, the author of a genuine demonic text isn’t the ‘Ancient Ruler’ but rather one of their followers or a priest. That’s why we might find Malevolent Ritual Books that indeed contain demonic energy, but humans can handle them reasonably well.

However, if the Undying Mother is indeed the entity I imagine, then the scripture of the Undying Mother would transcend mere demonic texts and become something of a higher caliber. After all, a deity would be the author.”

“……”

“A scripture of sorcery that surpasses demonic texts… It could be referred to as a divine text.”

Mangnyang sighed and concluded,

“Let’s leave it at this for now. It would be best to focus on training while waiting for Lee Kwang’s resurgence.”