The Nameless Taoist was spending an ordinary day, as he always did.

He swept the yard, picked tea leaves, brewed tea, and then stared blankly at the sky.

Wu wei ziran.

The ideal life that Taoists pursued.

His life was in touch with nature.

Anyone would think he was a Taoist cultivating the Tao. And someone came to visit that Nameless Taoist.

Nameless stood up from his seat as he saw the figure approaching his quarters.

“It’s been a long time, Biryang.”

“Hehehe. Taoist, you welcome this herb gatherer like this every time I come, I can’t even raise my head.”

The old man with a basket on his back was a healthy-looking, ordinary herb gatherer.

As if they were close acquaintances, the Nameless Taoist naturally guided the herb gatherer to his quarters.

“The weather is getting quite hot.”

“But it’s cool on the mountain.”

The conversation between the two was so friendly that it felt like meeting an old friend. But the gazes they exchanged were strangely cold.

If someone had looked closely at their faces, they would have known what was going on.

Their mouth shapes did not match the conversation they were having.

In other words, it was a high-level realm where they were communicating through telepathy while having a conversation.

[I heard the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero even brought Shaolin? And even the Arhat Monks. What on earth is he doing?]

[It’s nothing. That brat is asking the monks for help, trying to do something about the Bidara.]

[That brat succeeded in controlling a Bidara to some extent in Chongqing. What are you going to do if he really saves him from the Bidara?]

[That won’t happen.]

Nameless dismissed it with a laugh.

“This tea is as good as medicine, so it’s better than herbs.”

[And if it comes to that, well, we can just flip everything over.]

[Flip it over! You bastard, a sixth-ranker in the main valley, a six-star, acting so rashly!]

[Hmph, don’t talk nonsense. This is why I don’t like you guys from the Blood Sect. Can’t we just kill all the Wudang guys and take all the secret manuals like the Divine Spirit Talisman and the Taiji Wisdom Sword?]

[Is what we want just some measly secret manuals and talismans! What we want is for the Orthodox Faction guys to suspect each other, clash, and collide! They have to fall into chaos!]

[So what? The Blood Demon Sect, which was well-prepared, has disappeared, and the plan to sow discord among the Orthodox Faction using the Bidara has also been ruined by that brat, the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, hasn’t it? Has any of the plans made by your Blood Sect ever worked out?]

[…Still, this matter is going well, so don’t act rashly. From the looks of it, there’s already a watcher.]

[The Wudang Sect Leader has put a watcher on the roof so I can’t escape.]

[One? Isn’t it two?]

[What? Two?]

In an instant, the conversation was cut off.

[There’s one on the roof. And on the opposite peak, there’s a pretty strong one-armed guy?]

The herb gatherer, who had been talking without much thought, stiffened his expression as he saw Nameless’s hardened face.

[Oh dear, it seems we have an unwelcome guest. I’ll take care of that guy.]

The herb gatherer left that telepathic message and got up and went out. Even after the herb gatherer had left, Nameless’s mind was complicated. He had known for a while that one of the Three Heroes of Wudang was hiding on the roof to watch him.

But there was another one? Since when?

It was then.

Kugugugugu!

A dull vibration transmitted from beyond the ridge.

This blade-like energy transmitted to his skin.

No matter how much he disguised himself as a Taoist, he could tell. This was an energy that was completely opposite to Biryang’s essence.

He didn’t want to approach it, touch it, or smell it. It was similar to natural energy but clearly different, the damn immortal energy that only the Taoist bastards sometimes used.

And on top of that, an enormous cold qi, and an anti-demonic energy that seemed to be a combination of Shaolin’s and the Taoist’s, which made him want to vomit just by smelling it.

“What on earth is this?”

Did a fight break out or something?

A sense of crisis welled up. The new fact he had just learned and the energy transmitted through his skin overlapped, and his nerves became sensitive.

The existence of another watcher that he hadn’t even been able to pay attention to.

For dozens of years.

He had endured and endured in a corner of Wudang, and no one thought he was a demon. If it weren’t for the demonic energy hidden deep in his dantian, even Nameless would have thought of himself as a miraculous Taoist.

So if it was a Taoist of Wudang, he could not escape his senses.

The fact that he had escaped meant that he was not of Wudang.

A thunderbolt struck his head.

Currently in Wudang, who was not of Wudang?

The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, the girl from the Zhuge Clan and her guard. And that guy’s servant.

‘He was watching me? The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero?’

When the reasoning came to that conclusion, Nameless felt that something was going wrong.

The next sensation he felt was a peak sense of crisis.

Ttuk!

“……!”

A sensation of a nerve in his head being cut off.

No, it was a feeling of a part of his body that he had carried his whole life being cut off.

A part of his heart felt empty.

‘Don’t tell me…?’

Nameless’s pupils trembled violently.

“The Bidara, has been cut off!”

The thread connected to the Bidara through his mind had been cut.

He wasn’t dead. If he were dead, it wouldn’t feel like this.

A sensation of the art itself disappearing.

“Someone has undone the art of the Bidara!”

It wasn’t just that the Bidara had died, but the art itself had been undone.

“Don’t tell me, the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero really did it?”

He suddenly got up and turned his gaze towards the ridge from which the vibration had been transmitted.

“If it comes to this… if it comes to this, damn it.”

The grand plan would turn to bubbles. If Hyeonyeopjin was released from the Bidara, he would be able to explain what had happened with his consciousness just before he died.

Then the conflict between the Red Scarf Society and the Wudang Sect would be mended in an instant.

The plan to incite a conflict between the two forces and eventually cause a war had been thwarted.

The treasures of Wudang? That kind of thing was secondary.

The original goal was to make Wudang self-destruct by fighting internally, so that it could never come out into the martial world again.

“There’s no choice.”

Nameless’s face soon became endlessly calm.

“If the Blood Sect’s plan to make them self-destruct has gone wrong, I’ll have to do it my way.”

Not self-destruction, but annihilation at his own hands.

Muttering so, Nameless immediately went out. Now there was no need to live as a Taoist, which didn’t even fit his body.

Kung!

The figure hiding on the roof fell to the ground.

Nameless, as if he had expected it, immediately stretched out his hand.

Kagagagagang!

A sword that had shot up abruptly struck Nameless’s hand. Sparks flew as if blades were clashing.

“……!”

“One of the Three Heroes of Wudang, right? You’re pretty good. To block my claw.”

“You… are not a Taoist.”

“Hehe. Weren’t you watching, knowing that?”

The Three Heroes of Wudang.

The three peak masters who guarded the sect leader.

Among them, Myeonghyeon’s pupils trembled.

He hadn’t been able to understand it all this time. The noble Taoist with whom he drank tea and received advice every time.

Why had the sect leader told him to watch him?

Now he understood.

The powerful, evil, and terrible energy that surrounded his whole body.

Demonic energy.

“A… demon!”

A bitter smile appeared on Nameless’s lips.

“Do you know now why that guy, the Great Purity, told you to watch me?”

A look of confusion appeared on Myeonghyeon’s face.

To watch him meant that the Great Purity had at least expected that he was a demon.

A demon was disguised as a Taoist within Wudang.

And he had only told him to watch. Not to strike right away.

‘Why?’

A question that came to mind.

Nameless’s eyes, which had read that question, shone.

“What do you think it means? It means that your master, that guy the Great Purity, already knew that I was the culprit.”

“……!”

“He knew and left me alone. Why? Because if it was revealed that I was the culprit, he couldn’t strike the Red Scarf Society.”

“What absurd nonsense is that!”

Myeongheon could not accept it. Then the reason he had left him alone, knowing, was solely because of the thought of casting out the Red Scarf Society?

No matter how much he hated the Red Scarf Society, how could he just leave alone the demon who had killed his master and turned him into a Bidara?

“He probably thought he would catch me and deal with me after he had cast out the Red Scarf Society. That’s why he entrusted you with the task of watching me so I couldn’t escape, isn’t it? Hehehe!”

Myeonghyeon, with a pained expression as if he couldn’t listen anymore, extended his sword.

Nameless snorted and grabbed the sword.

“……!”

“Do you think you can cut me with a Taiji that hasn’t even properly ripened?”

Kwajik!

The sword broke. The powerful sword, filled with internal energy, shattered into pieces. The moment Myeonghyeon’s eyes trembled. Nameless’s hand broke his neck in an instant.

“What’s the point of moving according to the Blood Sect’s plan? Using the Blood Demon Sect guys or in Chongqing, it all went to shit. Since it has come to this.”

Nameless.

No, the eccentric and demon who was once called the Dabi Old Fiend, Nameless, took out a signal flare from his bosom and shot it.

“I’ll do it my way.”

Not the gloomy schemes that the Blood Sect guys set up.

As he pleased.

“In the way of a demon.”

Break, trample, and take.

* * *

The Great Purity True Man looked at Mucheonak, who was holding the dead body of Venerable Hyeonyeop and wailing, with dry eyes.

They considered each other political enemies. They didn’t even exchange words.

Of course, it wasn’t like that at first.

Mucheonak had treated him, who was one year younger, like a real younger brother, and the Great Purity had also followed Mucheonak like a real older brother.

But since when?

Mucheonak had gradually become jealous and envious of him.

‘They say you will become the sect leader, elder? Then you will become the sect leader’s disciple! Really, I’m envious. Now you’ll be able to eat all the Taiji Wisdom Sword of Wudang and all sorts of elixirs. Oh dear, you’ll become a master to the point where I can’t follow you anymore, won’t you?’

‘What are you talking about. You’re also the master’s disciple, brother!’

‘…I’m not the elder’s disciple. I just received a little teaching on the side thanks to you.’

The fragment of emotion that had appeared on Mucheonak’s face at that time was a mixture of pain, envy, and jealousy, and it was painful.

And so time passed.

The Great Purity, as the direct line of Wudang, systematically learned the teachings to become the next sect leader. He came to surpass Mucheonak, who had been one step higher, in martial arts.

It was unavoidable.

Although Mucheonak’s talent and understanding of martial arts were better.

Unlike the Red Scarf Society, where the martial arts of various heroes were mixed, Wudang had a solid foundation as a prestigious Orthodox Faction.

From then on, the relationship between Mucheonak and the Great Purity True Man had gradually become distant.

The decisive event was when the Great Purity True Man reached the age of twenty.

The Taiji Wisdom Sword.

He had received the secret manual containing the strongest secret art of Wudang.

‘If you learn and master it from now on, with your talent, the name of Wudang will shake the martial world.’

The Taiji Wisdom Sword.

The peerless secret art that only the sect leader of Wudang could learn.

The Great Purity had told Mucheonak that fact. That he would finally learn the Taiji Wisdom Sword. Wasn’t it Mucheonak who had thought that the Taiji Wisdom Sword of Wudang was the number one in the martial world since he was a child?

But Mucheonak had been caught trying to secretly steal the secret manual of the Taiji Wisdom Sword while he was away.

‘Brother, why do you covet that! The Taiji Wisdom Sword is something that no one can covet!’

‘Me too? I learned martial arts with you. You learned all the martial arts of the Red Scarf Society, but you’re saying I can’t?’

‘Brother… that belongs to Wudang.’

‘I am the sword that protects Wudang!’

‘You are the sword that protects Wudang, but you must not steal what belongs to Wudang.’

Mucheonak’s expression became sorrowful.

‘I live with the pride of being the sword that protects Wudang. To do that, I have to be strong. The reason my father, my friends’ fathers, died while protecting Wudang was because they were weaker than the Demonic Cult guys. For the sword that protects Wudang to become strong, it must learn the martial arts of Wudang. Are you saying that is wrong?’

From then on, the Great Purity True Man had realized that he could not go with Mucheonak.

Because the sword that protected Wudang was not satisfied with being a sword, but wanted to become Wudang itself.

Later, when he became an elder and saw the influence of the Red Scarf Society in Wudang, the Great Purity True Man felt it keenly.

That perhaps not now, but the Red Scarf Society might become the sword that would kill Wudang, not the sword that protected Wudang.

‘I am the sword that protects Wudang. I protected Wudang until the pure white towel was soaked red with blood. But why, the Great Purity, do you hate our Red Scarf? The sword that protects Wudang!’

So he had tried to push away the Red Scarf Society, and Mucheonak, in response, had pushed Wudang even more strongly.

And so the emotional rift that had deepened once had finally come to this.

“…It seems the one who did that to my senior martial uncle was not the Red Scarf Society Leader. Sect Leader. I saw my senior martial uncle’s eyes.”

At Venerable Jincheong’s words, the Great Purity nodded his head slightly.

The eyes of Venerable Hyeonyeop, which he had shown to Mucheonak as he was dying, were filled with a warm warmth.

He would not have shown such a gaze to the culprit who had killed him.

But, the Great Purity True Man had already guessed.

No, he was sure. He had known and had left it alone for his own greed. Although he had believed that that greed was the way to protect Wudang. Was that really the case?

“Well, it’s the sect leader’s fault.”

“…Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero.”

“Yin and yang, red and white, heaven and earth, the harmony of all things is the Taiji. It seems the sect leader has not yet properly embraced the Taiji.”

At Cheon Mubaeck’s words, which came out of nowhere, the Great Purity True Man closed his mouth firmly.

A sense of shame suddenly arose at the clear pupils that seemed to see right through him.

Cheon Mubaeck spoke calmly. For some reason, a warm tone was imbued in his voice.

“But, it is not yet too late.”

“…Not too late?”

“The Taiji may become cloudy, but it will not disappear. The Taiji may become faint, but it will not be forgotten.”

It was a word he didn’t understand.

But his chest felt like it was aching. At the same time, his heart, which had been racing with shame and bewilderment, calmed down. As if it were the words of an old man who had lived twice as long as him, Cheon Mubaeck’s voice had such a power.

That’s why the Great Purity True Man wanted to confess.

“Great Hero, this humble Taoist actually knows who the culprit is…”

Cheon Mubaeck waved his hand and covered his mouth.

“Don’t say it. I know. I know too.”

“…!”

The Great Purity True Man’s face hardened. Cheon Mubaeck glanced at that expression and looked at the main hall of Wudang in the distance. The twelve palaces gathered along the ridge.

A flame shot up from one of them.

“Anyway, if things go wrong, the first thing the demon bastards do is draw their swords.”

Cheon Mubaeck’s already drawn sword glinted coldly.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep