Chapter 185: Territory of the Cult
During that time, the one who spent the most time with Yeon Cheong-un in heaven was Zhang Sanfeng.
It goes without saying, but spending too much time on leisure activities naturally leads to disruptions in one’s main occupation.
If one postpones today’s work until tomorrow, it is also a natural law that tomorrow’s self will cough up blood.
Following that natural law, Zhang Sanfeng, who was handling the backlogged tasks, could not hide his bewilderment as he looked at the treasure reflecting the Meridian Mirror.
“Why are you showing up here?”
That was the Azure Bird.
The divine spiritual creature that was a dependent of the Queen Mother of the West, the Grand Mother of Kunlun.
Even when Zhang Sanfeng was a mortal, the legend of the Divine Bird living on Mount Heaven was quite famous in its own right.
“This old woman, seriously.”
No wonder Adept Tai-yi had been actively encouraging Yeon Cheong-un’s journey to Kunlun; he must have been plotting this kind of thing.
Zhang Sanfeng quickly folded up his work and headed to Kunlun where the Queen Mother of the West was.
However, there was a guest ahead of him.
“You prepared quite a fun trick, old woman?”
“If you have a problem with it, you can do it too.”
“Knowing my situation perfectly well and speaking like that sounds like an invitation to fight, doesn’t it?”
“Are you referring to how you stepped down from the throne after improperly touching karma?”
“……Sure, let’s fight a match.”
Rumble!!!
Along with the words of the Mysterious Heavenly Supreme Emperor displaying his anger, the sky of Kunlun began to be dyed in black.
“Even if you are the master of the black sky, confronting me without the Seven Star Sword is impossible.”
In response, a blue energy surged from the Queen Mother of the West’s body and stretched into the sky.
Crash! Rumble!!
The blue energy that reached the sky became a thunderbolt, flashing and running wild.
The great deities of heaven were on the verge of fighting a match.
“Is this heaven……”
Witnessing the moment when the mortals’ children’s issue led to an end-of-the-world class battle, Zhang Sanfeng let out a sigh.
Beside such a Zhang Sanfeng, a figure clicking his tongue poked his face out.
“Oh dear, what a mess. What are you doing instead of quickly stopping them?”
“…….”
The figure speaking as if it were natural was Adept Tai-yi.
He was a fellow who could well be considered the actual practitioner of this matter.
From Zhang Sanfeng’s perspective, it was absurd.
“Wouldn’t it be fine for you to step forward, Adept?”
“Are you crazy? At a time when flattery alone is barely enough for a healthy working environment, you want me to hit my boss in the back of the head? That’s out of the question.”
“……Did you happen to leave your conscience behind when you ascended to immortality?”
Zhang Sanfeng wanted to tell his disciple, who looked at him like a medicine peddler lately.
That the real deal was right here!
Among the fields recognized when this fellow became an immortal, the talent of having a thick skin was definitely included for sure.
“If those two fight and Kunlun gets destroyed, won’t there be more work? At the very least, it seems the work caused by that fellow, the Mysterious Heavenly Supreme Emperor, will be allocated to you.”
This fellow was the real deal. He was peddling medicine properly. It was to the point where he wanted to learn a trick or two if he had time.
“Your skill is indeed good. Was it also you who delivered the Queen Mother of the West’s will across the Divine-Sealing Great Barrier, Adept?”
“Hahaha! Are you asking if there is another way besides piercing through crudely like the Heavenly Demon? Well, if done well, it could provide help to your disciple.”
“You know it well indeed. Then lay out your bag of tricks.”
Zhang Sanfeng retorted in a disgruntled voice to Adept Tai-yi’s words that pierced through the essence. He did not feel particularly good as it felt like he was being treated as a child.
Adept Tai-yi clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“There is a way, but it is not a realm to be touched at your level. Even the Queen Mother of the West merely limits herself to conveying her will to her familiars. Unless one is an existence born with a ‘mutability’ like that rascal, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, tampering with the Divine-Sealing Great Barrier carelessly is dangerous. Even the matter of the Mysterious Heavenly Supreme Emperor losing the Seven Star Sword, which governs all life and death, and stepping down from the Emperor’s throne is entangled with the Divine-Sealing Great Barrier.”
In short, it was a no.
Even if one had the power to touch the Divine-Sealing Great Barrier, if things went awry, a backlash that even a great deity could not ignore could blow.
When Zhang Sanfeng drooped his shoulders at the disappointing news, Adept Tai-yi nudged him.
“Now, since you’ve heard it all, go quickly and stop them.”
“……What do you expect me to do about that?”
“If you don’t have the confidence to stop them by force, couldn’t you try selling out your disciple? Factually, the cause of those deities acting like that must be related to your disciple, isn’t it? Wait, thinking about it this way, isn’t it natural for you to step forward?”
“…….”
Facing a figure like the epitome of a malicious boss, Zhang Sanfeng, realizing there was ultimately no other way, trudged toward the place where the storm was brewing.
“My disciple, your master lives like this……”
Today of all days, Zhang Sanfeng’s shoulders looked narrow.
***
It was an extremely absurd situation.
A bird larger than a human sat on my arm, and the dozens of horses brought by that bird aligned in an orderly fashion.
Moreover, the horses brought by this bird were strangely trembling while watching the bird’s mood.
‘There is something red smeared on them……’
Come to think of it, there was some red stuff smeared on the heads of a few horses that looked like they had some temperament.
Seeing that, a strange scene was pictured in my mind.
It was the sight of a bird of terrifying size flying over out of nowhere and pecking their heads with that murderous beak.
‘And that murderous beak is right in front of my nose now.’
Considering its size, my arm must be at the level of a very tiny stick, yet it managed to perch on it. Despite that, it flexibly lowered its body and rubbed its head against my face.
It was like a dog or cat rubbing its body, as if marking its territory.
Peep?
As if the territory marking (?) was finished to some extent, the fellow who was rubbing its head against my face tilted its head and hopped off my arm.
Flop.
Peep!
And then it lay on the ground showing its belly and flapped its wings.
‘Is this…… acting cute?’
I knew that because the belly is a vital spot for beasts, they never expose it unless it is an opponent they trust.
Somehow, the overwhelming majesty felt from the first impression was washed away a bit.
‘By the way, if it is a spiritual creature of this caliber, it should have a name, right?’
If a spiritual creature of this size flew in the sky, it could not help but stand out.
Indeed, muttered voices speaking of its identity were heard.
“The Divine Bird said to live on Mount Heaven doing such a thing……”
Seeing Old Man Jong unable to hide his astonishment, I immediately asked what I was curious about.
“Do you know about this fellow?”
“Among the Mount Heaven Range, the mountain range we call the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, there is a place called the Thousand-Year Peak. It is a mountain where the snow has not melted for a thousand years, and the Divine Bird is the lord of that mountain. It is famous for being haughty and strong, following no one. The only one who made the Divine Bird follow was the first Heavenly Demon. According to the stories passed down, the first Heavenly Demon tamed the Divine Bird and rode on its back to travel around the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.”
‘……Then how old is this guy?’
The Divine Bird mentioned in that story must be this fellow.
Although I had roughly guessed when I first saw it, as expected, it seemed to be an existence comparable to the Gold-furred Ape I saw on Mount Song.
[Strictly speaking, it was not tamed. Because the creature was essentially an existence belonging to the Queen Mother of the West. A temporary contractual relationship would be the accurate expression.]
I did not know if he arrived after finishing his work, or if he flung his work aside and came up the moment this fellow showed itself, but Master Heavenly Demon popped up and corrected Old Jong’s explanation.
‘The Queen Mother of the West’s…… Ah!’
At Master Heavenly Demon’s explanation, I could understand why this fellow followed me.
From what I knew, among the spiritual creatures following the Queen Mother of the West, there existed things called Azure Birds.
While they stayed in the appearance of a maidservant beside the Queen Mother of the West, once they returned to their true forms flying in the sky, they were large and fierce blue birds.
“You are the Azure Bird.”
Peep!
Seeing it react to my words calling it the Azure Bird, it seemed this fellow also understood human speech.
A true spiritual creature.
[You can consider it roughly at the level of the Gold-furred Ape. So do not think of handling it carelessly. Just as the Gold-furred Ape did, this fellow is also already half-stepping in heaven. You might suffer harm from the backlash of karma.]
“……Yes.”
I felt inwardly startled at Master Heavenly Demon’s advice.
Because in fact, I wondered if it might be of help in the Demonic Cult’s matters.
‘But borrowing help indirectly should be fine, right?’
If it was a spiritual creature with ties to Master Heavenly Demon, its symbolism would be high.
“Yi Hwa.”
“Yes.”
“Is this fellow treated specially in the Cult?”
“Of course!”
An immediate answer.
There was even a sort of dreamy intoxication mixed in her reply.
This was not only Yi Hwa. From Old Man Jong to the Heavenly Demon’s Personal Guard, and even Jeok So-byeok, who was quite wary of me, were in the same state.
This influence would be a great help even in the Demonic Cult.
‘And one more thing.’
“Old Jong.”
“Yes.”
“How is the relationship with the Kunlun Sect?”
“It is not good.”
“……As expected?”
The sect located closest to the Demonic Cult among the Nine Great Sects was the Kunlun Sect.
In fact, the Kunlun Sect was the first gateway for the Demonic Cult to invade the Central Plains.
Their relationship could not be good.
This was a troublesome matter.
Currently, I am passing through Qinghai leading a large number of demonic practitioners. If possible, avoiding Mount Kunlun was the best policy.
However, I have business at Mount Kunlun.
‘Was it Red Spirit Herb, Ever-Bright Cinnabar, Non-Falling Immortal Fruit, and Thousand-Year Fleeceflower Root?’
Spiritual herbs to be used in refining the elixir to control the medicine power of the flat peach. Master Zhang Sanfeng said most of them could be found on Mount Kunlun.
If so, I cannot bypass Mount Kunlun.
‘This might be the reason she sent the Azure Bird to me.’
Although sects of the Taoist gate basically have a strong tendency to worship the Three Pure Ones, they often worship the god of their region separately with extreme devotion. Just as the Wudang Sect worships the Great Emperor Zhenwu.
If so, the Kunlun Sect must also be worshiping the Queen Mother of the West.
Perhaps there was also an intention to open up the possibility of ascending to heaven for Kunlun, just like Elder Divine Monk, Elder Heu-do, and Family Head Tang.
Since the need to avoid going to Kunlun disappeared, it was a good thing for me too.
“I’m counting on you.”
Peep!
The Azure Bird, jumping up, rubbed its head against my body in a good mood.
‘Come to think of it, did he say Master Heavenly Demon rode this fellow to travel around the Mount Heaven Range? If we get close, would I be able to ride it too?’
Running while riding a horse on the grassland would feel good, but the experience of flying in the sky riding this fellow would literally be thrilling.
To do that, we would have to get very close, so I gently stroked the Azure Bird’s head.
***
“Hmm.”
An old Taoist who woke up from a nap while letting out a shallow groan looked around.
The old Taoist, who had aged to the point where not a single black spot could be found in his hair, used the Taoist name of Cheon-won.
Adept Cheon-won.
As the Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sect, he was called the Great Void Sword Sect in the martial world.
Perhaps having had some dream, Adept Cheon-won headed straight to the place where ritual implements were stored.
He took out a few pieces of wood singed by something from there, rolled them, and tilted his head.
At such behavior of Adept Cheon-won, the old Taoist who was taking a nap together asked suggestively.
“What is the matter that you are rolling dharma treasures instead of taking a nap?”
“I had a strange dream. They say a noble guest is coming or something?”
“Oh! That’s great!”
“What is?”
“For a noble guest to visit at senior brother’s age, what else could it be but one? It must be a messenger from the Underworld. Since it seems you are about to kick the bucket soon, make sure to do the handover well in advance.”
“Aha. So you, Cheon-gyeong, want to return to heaven.”
As Adept Cheon-won rolled his eyes, Adept Cheon-gyeong subtly shifted the topic.
“Rather than that, what did it say?”
“It seems a noble guest is indeed coming, but the hexagram is a bit strange. It is the Kan hexagram over the Qian hexagram. What would it be?”
“Water is above, and heaven is below? Since it is a state of thick mist and clouds, does it not mean to calmly endure, wait, and deal with it?”
“What if the Zhen hexagram and Li (離) hexagram meet?”
“Thunder strikes and shines brightly, yielding fruits…… If you calmly endure and wait, a bountiful harvest will be waiting?”
“Yes, it seems something troublesome is coming.”
Adept Cheon-won put away the dharma implement made of lightning-struck jujube wood.
“Is it the east, or the west.”
Adept Cheon-won, who was unconsciously playing with his sword, straightened his back and looked up at the sky.