Chapter 120: Chapter 120
The name Qingcheng comes from the fact that the mountain peaks that seem to reach the sky, were reminiscent of a blue fortress wall.
Mount Qingcheng has always stood there with an unchanging figure. Looking at the gigantic yet blue mountain, it felt as if the troubles of his heart were washed away. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com
"Hoo...! I feel a little better now."
The man looking down at Mount Qingcheng from a high peak was a Taoist in his late thirties.
His name is Cheong-gyeong.
He is a major disciple of the Qingcheng sect.
After the bloodshed last year, the Qingcheng sect did not allow any outsiders to visit.The damage was so great that they couldn't afford to receive visitors because they were cleaning up the internal organization of the sect.
While that was correct, the bigger reason was the extreme sense of shame experienced by the Qingcheng sect disciples.
The fact that Mu Jeong-jin, the foremost master and elder of the Qingcheng sect had mastered black magic, made the disciples of the Qingcheng sect unable to raise their heads.
It was a great shock to them, who had lived with pride as a student of a prestigious Qingcheng sect with a history of hundreds of years, that Mu Jeong-jin learned black magic.
The high self-esteem they had fell to the ground. Shame and resentment combined, and the disciples of the Qingcheng sect were deeply wounded.
For that reason, the sect leader, Muryeongjin, had no choice but to lock the door of the Qingcheng sect.
Last winter, the elders of the Qingcheng sect did their best to heal the broken hearts of the disciples.
They interviewed everyone from the first generation disciples to the third generation disciples, and came up with a solution tailored to each individual.
And Go Yeopjin-in, the number one warrior of the Qingcheng sect, who had retired, came back again and taught the disciples.
As a result, the psychological wounds suffered by the Qingcheng disciples were healed to some extent.
Although the gates of the sect were locked and strictly forbade the entry of outsiders, the Qingcheng sect disciples were free to enter.
The disciples of the Qingcheng sect visited every nook and cranny of Mt. Qingcheng and captured the unexplored scenery. In the process, some of the disciples improved their skills, and some achieved an unexpected enlightenment.
So that's how they turned their resentment into a blessing.
The sect leader, Muryeongjin, planned to reopen the Qingcheng sect within a few years and rebuild the prestige of the Qingcheng sect, which had fallen to the floor because of Mu Jeong-jin..
Cheong-gyeong was one of the warriors who rose to prominence under the teachings of Muryeongjin and Go Yeop-jin.
Recently, with a small enlightenment, he was able to use the Qingcheng Sect's Nine Style1, which he could not do before. However, Cheong-gyeong was not happy with his current progress in martial arts.
He respected Mu Jeong-jin more than anyone else. So he tried to understand Mu Jeong-jin's actions.
"Is he saying that the Qingcheng sect's martial arts isn't enough?"
Cheong-gyeong wondered what had corrupted Mu Jeong-jin. Cheong-gyeong thought that even if his heart demon was like that, it shouldn't have escalated to that point.
When his heart and mind was in a mess, Cheong-gyeong would always come to this particular place alone. The location is one of the hidden wonders of Qingcheng Mountain. Since people rarely visit the place, he was able to immerse himself in contemplation.
Cheong-gyeong looked blankly at the unexplored view of Mount Qingcheng for a long time. Then he found some peace of mind.
That was then.
Sreuk!
All of a sudden, he felt a movement behind his back.
"Who are you?"
Cheong-gyeong asked in a soft voice, thinking that it was another disciple of the Qingcheng sect who was approaching.
But there was no answer.
It was then that Cheong-gyeong sensed a strange atmosphere.
"Why aren't you answering... Keuk!"
At that moment, a black hand covered Cheong-gyeong's face.
Cheong-gyeong could not scream and was suppressed at once. As soon as the hands covered his face, he was paralyzed and was unable to move.
Cheong-gyeong fell backwards like a rotten old tree.
'Kueugk!'
He tried to scream, but no voice came out of his mouth.
At that moment, a black figure suddenly appeared.
He knew the unknown figure was a human, but since they were wrapped in black, their facial features weren't clear.
The black figure was Heukam.
The paper that was spread on the table was a single map. It was a map of Sichuan Province brought by Governor Ko.
The map is not commonly available in the market. Since the topography of Sichuan and the location of the sects were precisely recorded, Steward Go obtained it with difficulty.
Pyo-wol looked at the map for a long time.
He is trying to cram the entire topography of Sichuan Province in his head.
Ordinary people would find it impossible. It was also difficult for Pyo-wol. Nevertheless, Pyo-wol still attempted to memorize it because of his obsession for survival.
His obsession that started in childhood did not disappear even after getting older. Rather, it seemed to go up to another level.
Pyo-wol was not relieved even though he had created several fake identities. He knows that if an expert makes up their mind to dig into his fake identities, he will easily be found out.
While there's only a few experts who had reached that kind of level, Pyo-wol was still on his guard.
Pyo-wol showed a formidable concentration. His eyes were wide open and his head was hurting, but he didn't stop looking at the map.
It was almost half a day later when Pyo-wol took his eyes off the map.
It took Pyo-wol half a day to memorize the map perfectly. His head now contained the topography of Sichuan, the location of important sects, and the location of land roads and waterways.
Once he memorizes something, he never forgets about it.
Pyo-wol rolled up the map, threw it roughly in one side of the room, and then came out.
Pyo-wol furrowed his eyebrows.
It was because the sun was shining so intensely.
Now that he's used to the sun, his eyes don't hurt even if he had been outside for a long time, but still, for Pyo-wol, the night was more comfortable than during the day.
At that moment, he saw Steward Go running in haste.
He had a gut feeling that something had happened.
"What's going on?"
Instead of answering, Steward Go presented a letter prepared in advance to Pyo-wol.
As it was a familiar gesture, Pyo-wol read the letter without panicking.
"The Thunder Clan moved?"
Steward Go nodded, agreeing to his words.
According to the letter, while Pyo-wol was busy reading the map, the Thunder Clan began to move in unison. There were as many as 200 Thunder Clan disciples moving at once. It was a number that could never be considered small.
The problem is that it's not just the Thunder Clan' warriors who moved.
"Suspicious movements were also detected in the High Sky Sect?"
The fact that both sects moved in unison could never be taken lightly.
"Why are they moving? Is there a connection?"
Steward Go shook his head. He hasn't figured it out yet.
Pyo-wol crumpled the letter.
It could have been just a coincidence that many factions moved at the same time. However, Pyo-wol was well aware that the probability of such a coincidence was extremely slim.
At least it was close to impossible for such a thing to happen in Jianghu.
'There must be something that made these factions move at the same time.'
There was a limit to what Pyo-wol could find out because he didn't move and investigated directly.
'Are their movements related to the entry of Golden Heavenly Hall in Chengdu?'
Pyo-wol denied his conjectures.
Jin Geum-woo of the Golden Heavenly Hall was looking for himself. He had no point of contact with the other sects.
In the end, the Golden Heavenly Halls's arrival in Chengdu and the movement of the two sects were mere coincidences.
So Pyo-wol was even more puzzled. To think such events happened at the same time.
Rather, if their movements were related to him, he would have responded much more actively. However, it was difficult to move because they were not posing a threat or provoking him.
"Have someone follow them. Figure out where they're headed and their final destination."
Steward Go nodded as if he understood and ran somewhere else.
Even after he disappeared, Pyo-wol did not move.
He didn't have a good feeling about this.
Whenever he felt like this, a big event would always happen.
A sticky wind was blowing that made people uncomfortable.