Chapter 132 Manggeom (2)

Chapter 132 Manggeom (2)

“What the hell is this guy doing?”

It had been a full week since Gu Yangji entered the Sword Spirit Hall.

Wan Tongzi kept glancing at the Sword Spirit Hall with an uneasy gaze.

‘The Sword Spirit Hall erases the sense of hunger for those who enter, but staying too long has severe side effects!’

Above all, Manggeom’s presence was the most troublesome thing for Wan Tongzi.

“Old Master…!”

Among the arrangements made by the Heavenly Fool, Manggeom was the only one older than him and possessed skills surpassing even those of the Nameless.

What Mantongja had said before Gu Yangji entered was no joke.

Manggeom would cut down anyone lacking the qualifications without exception.

He made no distinction whether they were from the Jongnam Sect or the Huashan Sect. To Manggeom, the only true Taoist sect was the Zhenjin Sect.

Wan Tong-ja couldn’t hide his anxiety.

“Didn’t he die for talking back to the old master?”

Beside him, Dae-woong was leisurely practicing his techniques.

* * *

Clang! Clang!

Gu Yang-jeok clashed blades with Mang-geom, his eyes wide.

Mind, Qi, Body.

If even one of these three fundamentals required for martial arts was lacking, the likelihood of defeat against Manggeom was high.

Using the Zhenhuian would greatly reduce the burden, but that was not what Gu Yangji desired.

The skill to stand against Palma even in extreme situations.

That was what Gu Yangji aspired to.

‘No one can guarantee the situation will align perfectly like it did when fighting the Black Dragon.’

In that regard, the Sword Spirit Valley was a place that perfectly matched his purpose.

The darkness was so thick and unpleasant that he wondered if Yeo Dong-bin hadn’t built the Sword Spirit Valley with this very intent in mind.

He couldn’t even see the floor, occasionally stumbling while executing his footwork.

Of course, Manggeom didn’t. Instead, he drew him into the very sections where he stumbled and engaged him there.

At first, he’d been irritated, but now it was different.

“…Guh!”

Gu Yangjeok grimaced, forcing strength into his ankle as it buckled.

Simultaneously, as if waiting for that moment, Manggeom thrust cleanly in.

Gu Yangjie’s wrist twisted smoothly.

Clang!

The swords of Chamhyun and Manggeom clashed, sending a harsh sound echoing through the air.

Though it might seem like a contest of strength at first glance, the reality was different.

‘Just who is this bastard…’

Gu Yangjie clenched his teeth tightly, channeling his Jiaxinjing energy into Chamhyun.

It was to satisfy his curiosity.

If he pressed forward with overwhelming force, as the Black Dragon had done to him in the past, how would the Mang Sword respond?

The result was astonishing.

The Mang Sword’s Mibu, executed without proper true energy, was draining half of his Zha Xian energy.

It was mastery—no, even the word ‘master’ felt inadequate—fundamental skill.

It seemed as if Manggeom was demonstrating the very essence of Lingbo, the subtle art of gliding over waves, which Myeong had spoken of so often.

Was martial skill truly this astonishing, this magnificent?

Gu Yangjeok found himself smiling without realizing it.

Watching Manggeom move, he instinctively held his sword more lightly.

Soon, he began to counter Manggeom’s sword path.

At first, he was terribly lost, but the more he went on, the more he felt himself adapting.

This was possible because the moves Mang-geom displayed always flowed in a similar pattern.

‘But breaking that pattern isn’t so easy…’

Gu Yang-jeok wore a dissatisfied expression as he struggled to find a way to counter Mang-geom’s moves.

Watching this, Mang-geom felt deeply pleased inside.

‘Does this fool even realize? That the sword technique I wield is the Heavenly Dullness, and the physical reactions it demands are also Heavenly Dullness…’

No matter how exceptional Gu Yangjeok’s talent might be, he would never grasp it.

Manggeom was immensely pleased to be able to scold this arrogant junior like this.

He also wanted to see how Gu Yangji would react if, before long, the Heavenly Dull Sword Technique became more familiar to him than the Plum Blossom Sword.

Whether heaven would grant that moment remained uncertain.

A deep regret clouded Manggeom’s face.

At that very instant, the edge of Manggeom’s blade momentarily dulled.

“……!”

Seizing that opening, Gu Yangji immediately unleashed the first move of Plum Fragrance Piercing Bone.

Like plum fragrance seeping into bone, a sharp, swift blade pierced Mang-geom’s wrist in a thrusting motion.

Thud-

Mang-geom had allowed the attack so easily that it was Gu Yang-jeok who was startled.

“Senior, are you alright?!”

“……I was lost in thought for a moment.”

Then, Mang-geom suddenly realized how much time had passed.

He clenched his bleeding wrist tightly, forcing back tears.

It wasn’t the pain in his wrist.

It was the sorrow that a week had passed, and it was time to send him away.

Above all, he lamented that desire had taken root within himself.

‘Didn’t I resolve that if a junior who mastered the Heavenly Dull Sword Technique ever came, I wouldn’t hold them back…!’

Had he made a mistake, Gu Yangjeok might have become a ghost of the Sword Sect like himself.

If that happened, the lineage of the Heavenly Sword Technique would be severed.

The Ghost Sword stared at Gu Yangjeok with gloomy eyes.

“Lost in thought, and now I’ve even lost to you.”

“Your wrist?”

“I’m fine, you bastard. Do you think I’m just some random martial artist? I have my ways.“

Mang-geom approached a corner of the cave and pressed his palm against it.

Kugugung……!

One side of the cave wall seemed to split apart, revealing a dense forest filled with pine trees.

‘Who knew something like this was inside the cave!’

Gu Yang-jeok gasped in astonishment, his mouth wide open.

”Good heavens, what is this?“

”……. “

”Senior?“

Only then did Gu Yangjeok turn his head, but Manggeom’s figure had vanished without a trace.

Instead, Manggeom’s voice echoed from the distance.

”I’ll wait for your four brothers to arrive!“

”……Understood, Senior.”

Gu Yangjeok clasped his hands together where he stood, bowed respectfully for half a moment, then stepped into the forest.

* * *

The forest was unusually dense for early spring, thick and impenetrable.

Moreover, it was humid enough to evoke memories of midsummer in the southern wilderness.

Gu Yangji began cutting through branches left and right with his sword, trying to get his bearings.

“What the hell is this place that he let me in?”

It wasn’t even worth considering whether this was a trap.

It was an arrangement of the Heavenly Sword Technique, and Mang Jian, a distant predecessor in Taoism, would never have lured him into a trap.

Above all, the lingering feeling he sensed at the end killed any doubt.

If anything, it had been helpful.

Gu Yangji kept gazing at the sky as he advanced as far as possible toward the heart of the forest.

Then, finally, he came face to face with a strange object.

“…Is this the Dan?”

Gu Yangji lifted the Dan Hwan resting on the altar.

Its color was almost water-like, and the coolness it imparted to his nose was beyond words.

The energy emanating from within the Dan Hwan was purer than the Heavenly Dull Heart-Refining Technique possessed by the nameless one.

It was already the Zha Xian Heart-Refining Technique, known as the Divine Art of All-Things Harmony.

‘With the internal energy contained here, the Zhaoxi Heart Technique should progress two or three times faster than other methods.’

Without a second thought, Gu Yangjie sat cross-legged and swallowed the Dan Hwan.

He clenched his teeth tightly.

Acting without properly harnessing the Dan Hwan’s energy carried a high risk of inviting demonic possession.

The purer the energy, the easier it was to absorb, but also the easier it was to become tainted.

To neglect one’s qi cultivation and render such a pill meaningless would be an act that would make one look like a cripple to all.

Gu Yangjie closed his eyes and listened intently to the flow around him.

“……”

Just like the pill he had consumed, the energy of the jungle was pure, without a single impurity.

His body felt incredibly light and refreshed, as if he hadn’t fought countless battles against the Demon Sword.

‘In an environment like this, could I even pierce the Thousand-Year Vein?’

He thought it, but didn’t act immediately.

Last time, there was a fellow master from the righteous faction to assist his qi cultivation, but this time, there was none.

If he made a mistake, he might lose control of his qi like a child swept away by a torrent, causing it to erupt.

Nevertheless, Gu Yangji gathered his qi and sank into deep thought.

‘If I stop here, will I truly improve further?’

The Danwan clearly offered the benefit of increasing his internal energy.

But that was all.

Having abundant internal energy could be an advantage. But that alone wouldn’t be enough to defeat even Namgung Cheon, let alone Palma.

Thinking this, Gu Yangjeok adjusted his posture once more.

To maximize the advantage of his abundant internal energy, he had no choice but to succeed in the Great Heavenly Circuit, piercing through to the Upper Dantian and the Thousand-Year Meridian.

It was an act bordering on the impossible. Yet, Gu Yangjie slapped his own cheek to steel his resolve.

‘With this environment and the Danwan I’ve taken now, it’s possible.’

Gu Yangjie sat cross-legged, focusing all his senses.

* * *

“You didn’t really kill the old man, did you?”

“Waaah-!”

“Woong-ah, stop crying and answer me.”

When Mantong slapped his cheek with a palm strike, Daewoong sniffled once before heading toward the underground tunnel near Geomseondong.

Mantong felt sorry for Daewoong, but he couldn’t relieve his frustration without doing this.

It had been seven days and one more day.

If another day or two passed here, even if he emerged at Geomseondong, he would immediately shrink and die.

‘Even if I wanted to break the magic in Geomseondong…’

It was a barrier set up by dozens of high-level spellcasters like Shin Anja.

No matter how much Man Tongja was a genius who inherited all the wills, he couldn’t break Geomseondong’s barrier or its magic.

Above all, the very embodiment of the Heavenly Sword Technique’s arrangement, the Sword of Oblivion, lay there.

To tamper with Geomseondong out of frustration would be committing the sin of defying the Heavenly Sword Sect.

“When the hell is he coming out?”

Mantongja muttered with a sigh, his heart heavy with frustration.

The original plan had been to let Gu Yangji come out and train alone.

He hadn’t anticipated it taking this long.

Just as Mantongja was growing restless, Daewoong let out a howl.

“Waaah?!”

“Woong-ah, can’t you be quiet?!”

Mantongja snapped angrily, and Daewoong’s cries gradually subsided.

Instead, a familiar voice reached his ears.

“Were you tormenting a spirit again?”

“Enemy!”

Man Tong-ja, seemingly delighted, spread his arms wide and approached. Gu Yang-jeok recoiled in disgust and dodged away.

“What are you doing? I’m not into men.”

“Isn’t that just because you’re happy to see me?”

“It seems Woong is happier to see you than you are to see him?”

At that, Mantongja glanced sideways at Daewong, who was clinging to Gu Yangjeok more than to his own master.

The phrase “reaping what you sow” suddenly came to mind.

But that didn’t mean he felt any better about it.

“Daewong, you little…”

“Enough. Anywhere else we need to go?”

At Gu Yangjeok’s words, Mantongja shook his head lightly.

“What more do you want? Looks like you’ve gained quite a bit of fortune. We should head back to the Huashan Sect soon, so we can come out again next time.”

When Mantongzi spoke as if telling a child to go home, Guyang Jie snapped back.

“How many days have passed, anyway?”

“If we think back to the day we first met… at least thirty days have passed, right?”

“What?”

Gu Yangjie reflexively retorted. The idea that thirty days had passed was hard to believe.

But even Daewong nodded slightly.

Mantongja added an explanation.

“As you know from entering Geomseondong, it’s designed so you can’t tell how much time has passed.”

“How many days was I in there?”

“Between eight and nine days.”

“……That’s nonsense.”

Gu Yangjeok shook his head in disbelief, but when he looked up at the sky, he had no choice but to concede.

The positions of the stars were distinctly different from when he had entered the Sword Spirit Cave.

How else could this be explained, other than that a significant amount of time had passed?

‘No, who could I even tell about what happened last night?’

Gu Yangjeok recalled what had happened after consuming the inner丹.