WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 176: Heaven's Net Is Vast, Letting Nothing Escape
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Yeon Sowol opened his eyes.
“...”
Using the power of Heaven-Killing Star, he had killed the heart demon within him.
It had worn his face and spoken in his voice, but its roots had been different.
A seed of a demon that had slipped inside at some point had settled in the distortions of his mind and steadily grown.
At some point, he had become unable to distinguish it from his own thoughts.
Once it had been removed, everything suddenly felt new.
A world that was clear and vivid.
When he ran his hand over his heart, there were no knots.
Unbound by anything, it was
like the wind,
like water,
and it almost felt as though he had caught a glimpse of his own back.
“...I don't know anymore.”
Everything he had known had become unfamiliar.
Remaining seated, Yeon Sowol contemplated his inner self for a while.
The universe within the Eight Extraordinary Vessels.
The qi of the universe Yeon Sowol had gathered and woven from every force in the world, making it resemble the universe.
Once, he had thought he understood every part of that energy.
Had he merely understood it?
He had designed and cultivated every last detail with his own hands, stitch by stitch.
Yeon Sowol had believed he held that universe completely in his hands.
But now, he did not know.
“...I really don't know.”
What he had been making.
What he had wanted to make.
What it had truly become.
What it would become from here on.
And what it could become...
“When I reach the peak realm, what sort of energy should I bring forth?”
Rustle...
A sudden gust stirred the bamboo.
The earth, drawn tight beneath the cold wind, could only send a few grains of sand rolling.
Yeon Sowol realized.
“A crossroads.”
The first path resembled the one he had walked before.
He could dissect every principle one by one, endlessly learn and add to them, and imitate the universe as closely as possible.
But there was one clear difference from before.
Now, Yeon Sowol knew that this universe contained a space no model could capture.
He would simply pursue his own universe while acknowledging that truth.
“But this path is different from what Master taught me.”
Loss of Self was the state of mind that viewed things as they were, without defining or limiting them. Everything, including oneself.
The first path stood at the exact opposite end.
It was the act of defining and limiting everything.
Yet because he would always remain aware that it had never captured the whole, it strangely connected with the realization of Loss of Self.
“Since I became Master's disciple at Wudang, the second path is the right one.”
The second path was to tear down everything he had accomplished.
The energy Yeon Sowol had created so far was itself a definition and limitation of the universe.
It was a model he had assembled so he could understand the universe.
With the realization of Loss of Self, he could not hold such energy.
It would be like trying to open a lock with the wrong key.
“Then I'll have to tear it all down and start again.”
Everything he had built while leaving Guangdong, passing through Yuezhou, and coming all the way here would have to be destroyed.
Then he would have to accept the universe again.
As it appeared.
As he felt it.
Without rashly defining or limiting it.
As if he had become a fool.
That would not be bad either.
If he held the realization of Loss of Self and let his energy follow it, his mind and energy would become perfectly suited to Wudang's teachings.
As the disciple of Chungdam True Man, it could be called the best choice.
Still...
“It will take a long time.”
He would have to cultivate from the beginning for a very long time, until he could once more cultivate the qi of the universe.
And...
“It feels like a waste.”
Yeon Sowol looked at the energy coiled within his Eight Extraordinary Vessels.
The energy he had created with such painstaking effort.
The accumulated cultivation that quite literally contained his history.
“...”
Did he really have to destroy it?
What made the choice harder was that the energy he had accumulated had no problem in itself.
The first path and the second path had never been a matter of one being superior to the other.
They simply differed in direction and state of mind.
So, destroying it all for the sole reason of pursuing Wudang's teachings was not something he could not do, but still...
It felt like a waste.
Thought struck against thought.
Yet Yeon Sowol was not anxious.
He sat calmly and continued thinking.
“Ah.”
Then a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
“A third path.”
This...
Perhaps...
Yeon Sowol closed his eyes again.
For a long time, he contemplated the thought that had just arisen.
* * *
At the entrance to the Hall of Manifest Dao stood more than twenty Wudang Daoists.
At the center stood Sect Leader Hwagokja.
The elders stood beside him, while the first-generation disciples formed ranks behind them.
There were two at the transcendent peak realm and twenty at the peak realm.
Enough force had gathered in one place to wipe out not merely a single sect, but an entire region.
Hwagokja stood with his eyes closed.
Most of the elders were restless.
The first-generation disciples watched the elders cautiously.
“Hyeoncheon Josun Celestial Worthy... Sect Leader, must we truly defy Martial Uncle's... No. The Grandmaster's will...?”
It was the voice of one of the elders.
Grandmaster was the title used for Chungdam True Man, Wudang's sixty-eighth patriarch.
The burden in the elder's voice was unmistakable.
Hwagokja answered with eyes still closed.
“The Grandmaster's teachings are right. Yet as Wudang's Sect Leader, this too is right.”
They were waiting for Yeon Sowol.
Yeon Sowol had taken the Cloud-Dream Elixir and confronted his heart demon.
If he emerged unable to overcome it, they had gathered to protect him.
“But... If the Grandmaster means to cut down Young Hero Yeon, how can we stop him?”
“You need not worry about that. The Grandmaster said he would cut away the demon seed, but he was merely voicing one possibility. When he sees us gathered here to protect him, he will turn away without hesitation. That is the sort of person he is.”
“...But is that truly right? Didn't he say that if Young Hero Yeon fell to demonhood, he would stain the realm with blood?”
“I do not know. But did Wudang Mountain not promise to protect those who entered its embrace? This, too, is natural.”
“That promise is for those who surrender their swords at the Sword-Relinquishing Pool...”
The elder grumbled to the end, but Hwagokja did not respond further.
Hwagokja merely waited quietly with eyes closed.
Behind Hwagokja, the disciple Hyeonjung muttered.
“Still, he'll be quite surprised. From what I hear, Yeon Sowol is only about the age of my youngest martial brother. If we all come flooding in like this...”
Hyeonjung trailed off, then tilted his head.
“The age of my youngest martial brother? Wait. He took Martial Granduncle as his master, didn't he? Then what does that make him? Would he be my Martial Uncle too? Did I say that wrong? Should I call him Martial Uncle Yeon?”
The first-generation disciple beside him poked him in the side.
“Would that be the case, Eldest Brother? He's a lay disciple, isn't he? He doesn't share our generation.”
“Ah. Is that so?”
Hyeonjung nodded while tilting his head again.
Then he suddenly looked toward the Hall of Manifest Dao.
“Ah. He's coming out now. He'll be surprised.”
The instant Hyeonjung finished speaking, someone stirred beyond the wall of the Hall of Manifest Dao.
Step.
A shadow stretched long beneath the early winter sunlight.
Step.
Yeon Sowol walked outside.
“...”
Seeing the Wudang Daoists lined up before him, he stopped without a word.
He did not flinch in surprise or become flustered.
He was calm, as though he had expected this to happen.
He bowed neatly toward Hwagokja with cupped hands.
“I greet the Sect Leader.”
“...”
Hwagokja did not return the greeting.
Hwagokja merely stared at Yeon Sowol for a long while.
Yeon Sowol quietly returned Hwagokja's gaze.
Neither Yeon Sowol nor Hwagokja showed the slightest discomfort.
Only after quite some time had passed did Hwagokja speak.
“I do not understand how this happened.”
Hwagokja looked steadily at Yeon Sowol and asked,
“Have you escaped the heart demon?”
“Yes.”
“How did you escape it?”
“I saw what was pushing at my mind.”
“And?”
“I filtered it out.”
“...Completely?”
“For the time being.”
Hwagokja stared at Yeon Sowol once more.
Yeon Sowol did not avoid his gaze.
Hwagokja thought,
‘He stands before my eyes, yet it feels as though he cannot be seen. It must be Loss of Self. But how can the bearing of a cultivator who has only just reached realization be so free and at ease? Did he truly remove the heart demon completely?’
He had thought Yeon Sowol might repel it for a time, but never remove it entirely.
“Heaven's net is vast. Though its mesh is wide, nothing escapes.”
Heaven's net was broad and great. It might appear loose, yet it missed nothing.
“From the Dao's perspective, even a demon that hides itself most cleverly must eventually reveal itself... Still, such a thing can happen.”
Hwagokja gave a quiet sigh.
The other Daoists around him whispered in surprise.
“He defeated his heart demon? Does that mean he has reached Loss of Self?”
“Loss of Self? Wasn't Young Hero Yeon late first-rate?”
“Late first-rate? Then is he challenging the peak realm now?”
“He will attain the peak realm while having reached Loss of Self...?”
“What kind of realm is that...?”
“Celestial Worthy, Incarnation of the Golden Palace Who Subdues Demons...”
The elders and first-generation disciples continued whispering.
Among them, Hwagokja murmured,
“In any case, it seems it can be done this way as well. Daoist Friend Yeon overcame the heart demon himself, while I gathered even my disciples in an attempt to force an outcome. In truth, it was all needless.”
Hwagokja slowly closed his eyes.
As though savoring something.
“I alone was bustling about. Martial Uncle remains tranquil even now, while I alone was bustling. The Dao leaves nothing unaccomplished even without striving...”
Hwagokja's already unremarkable presence began to sink even deeper.
His breathing settled into stillness, as though it had ceased entirely.
The gazes of Wudang's disciples suddenly changed.
“The Sect Leader has entered realization.”
The voice of an elder was the signal.
Swish.
Swish.
The elders and first-generation disciples surrounded Hwagokja.
They were standing guard for Hwagokja as he sank into realization.
Hyeonjung stepped forward.
“Young Hero Yeon. Master has fallen into contemplation for a while. We can finish our conversation later. For now, I think it would be best if you went to meet the Grandmaster. Follow this path straight up, and you will find him there.”
Yeon Sowol remained calm this time as well.
Without a word, he bowed with cupped hands and began to walk.
Hyeonjung called after him, grinning broadly.
“Congratulations on reaching Loss of Self! I'm only one step away myself, so I'll catch up soon!”
Yeon Sowol turned back, cupped his hands in salute, then continued on his way.
* * *
All the leaves had fallen, but the valley stream in the mountains had not yet frozen.
In the middle of a small hut, where the sound of running water could be heard, Chungdam True Man stood.
Contrary to Hwagokja and the other elders' expectations, he had never intended to seek out Yeon Sowol from the beginning.
Hwagokja had been right.
It was true that he had said he would cut away the demon seed even if it meant killing Yeon Sowol, but he had not thought that was the only answer, nor had he intended to force that outcome.
He had merely said as much.
That was why Yeon Sowol met Hwagokja first when he emerged after confronting his heart demon.
What if Yeon Sowol emerged having fallen to demonhood?
That would ultimately be for Hwagokja, Wudang's Sect Leader, to decide. What to do with Yeon Sowol.
And what if Yeon Sowol overcame the demon?
Then Hwagokja would send him to Chungdam True Man.
There was no need to do anything in advance.
If Yeon Sowol came, he would teach him.
If he did not come, he would forget him.
That had been Chungdam True Man's intention from the start.
Yet.
What was this?
“...”
“I greet Master.”
Chungdam True Man stared at Yeon Sowol for a while, then abruptly asked,
“How strange. How in the world did you do it?”
“I killed the heart demon.”
“Exactly. That is why it is strange. You, who have only just reached Loss of Self, accomplished such a thing.”
Yet Chungdam True Man did not press him for more details.
He merely reflected on the fact that such a thing had occurred.
Then he gave a short, incredulous laugh.
“Truly strange. Your mind is at Loss of Self, yet your freedom is like Nonaction.”
Chungdam True Man abruptly asked,
“Then could you bring me the ugliest stone?”
Yeon Sowol moved without hesitation, as though he had prepared for the request beforehand.
He smoothly lowered himself to the ground, picked up a stone at his feet, and held it out to Chungdam True Man.
Chungdam True Man stared at the stone, then asked,
“Is that the ugliest stone?”
“I do not know.”
“Do you truly not know?”
“Yes. I do not.”
“Why do you not know?”
“...”
Yeon Sowol's lips moved.
Why did he not know?
He could have answered if he wished.
Because a stone was merely a stone.
People could each attach labels to it, calling it precious, lowly, ugly, or fine, but those were only perspectives or models.
Or they were merely one of the countless phenomena surrounding that stone.
No matter what one said of the stone, one could never claim to have captured all of it.
The stone as it existed, and the stone one had grasped.
The space that always remained between them...
Therefore, the ugliest stone either did not exist, or there were far too many of them.
A stone was merely a stone.
So, leaving aside what could not be grasped, he had simply grasped a stone that could be grasped and held it out.
...
...
He could have explained it all as smoothly as flowing water.
“...”
But Yeon Sowol closed his mouth.
He felt that even those words could not contain it all.
He spoke less.
Wanting to speak, then stopping.
Wanting to speak, then stopping.
Instead, he says,
“The weather has grown cool. What a fine autumn.”
Yes. Just like those lines.
“You have no words.”
Chungdam True Man asked,
“If you do not know, why did you bring me that stone?”
Yeon Sowol answered,
“Because you told me to bring a stone.”
Chungdam stared at Yeon Sowol, then smiled.
“Yes. I asked a foolish question.”
In one sense, it sounded like Yeon Sowol was pointing out that his master had asked the impossible.
In another, it seemed to reveal the diligence to respond as best one could rather than simply give up.
The Way of Heaven does not contend, yet it wins well.
It does not speak, yet it responds well.
It does not summon, yet things come of themselves.
Though it is loose, it plans well.
Heaven's net is vast.
Though its mesh is wide, nothing escapes.
...
Chungdam placed his hands behind his back and turned away.
He walked toward the hut.
“Sowol.”
“Yes.”
“Let's eat first.”
“Yes.”
Master and disciple entered the hut side by side.
Soon, smoke rose as rice was cooked.
Footnotes:
The repeated lines about wanting to speak but stopping quote a lyric by Xin Qiji, where unspoken sorrow is concealed behind a casual remark about the pleasantly cool autumn weather.
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