Chapter 164

The time it took to go from Wudang Mountain to Luoyang was a bit longer than the return trip.

They ran so hard that when the horses got tired, they sold them and bought new ones to switch out. By the time they entered the Jinryeong Mountain Range, they had exhausted all the stamina they had saved up and unleashed their movement techniques. Recreating that speed again was extremely difficult.

Since they weren’t in a hurry to return, they didn’t bother getting horses and just ran using their movement techniques.

From Wudang to Luoyang, mixing official roads and mountain paths, it was about 1,000 li. For ordinary people, it would take a full month if they took it easy, or 20 days if they hurried. But for martial artists armed with movement techniques and breath control, seven days and nights were enough.

Since Changcheon Pavilion was composed of Peak Masters, they ran all day, eating and sleeping, but not a single person collapsed from exhaustion. If there had been such a person, they would have fallen behind and disappeared during the journey from Luoyang to Daepa Mountain.

However, many were surprised that even the Wudang Sect’s No Gosu, who didn’t seem to have trained in martial arts, kept up with the pace effortlessly.

Far from struggling to keep up, No Gosu was overflowing with leisure. Walking as if out for a stroll, yet moving faster than the rest, it made people wonder if it was really a movement technique.

When a few friendly people asked how they did it, No Gosu laughed and replied with one sentence.

“This is the Earth Shrinking Technique.”

Hearing that, Myorin, who had been pondering No Gosu’s proposal for days, quickly raised the white flag.

One could argue that using the Phoenix Feather, a transcendent ability, made the Earth Shrinking Technique seem insignificant, but in terms of sustainability, the two were on completely different levels.

The Phoenix Feather was a one-time use, and the further the distance, the more mental and internal energy it consumed. As for the Earth Shrinking Technique, even if its efficiency was unknown, if it was good, it was worth learning. If it was bad, then No Gosu’s ability to use it so effortlessly proved their skill was otherworldly, which wasn’t bad either.

Thus began No Gosu’s lessons.

Before the lesson started, as soon as No Gosu brought up the subject, Myorin’s brow furrowed.

“When I first saw it, I thought it was a rather primitive technique.”

Myorin, who was about to get angry at those words, held back her temper and waited for the rest.

“But after watching it for a few days, I realized it’s completely different.”

The framework was old, but what filled it was a mysterious collection of things No Gosu had never seen before.

Even for someone who could fold the earth beneath their feet like a piece of paper, the incomprehensible mysteries covering Myorin’s small body were something they had never encountered before.

“The spell inscriptions on your body. Each stroke must contain a person’s lifetime. How long it took, how many people suffered to create those tattoos, even I can’t easily guess.”

At those words, Myorin shrugged her shoulders.

Born into an extremely poor family, Myorin grew up relying on others for milk.

When she thought she was truly going to die, she met her master.

The Cheongjeong Sect was more precious to Myorin than her family, and the martial arts and techniques she inherited from there were more valuable than the blood flowing in her veins.

Being recognized for the Cheongjeong Sect’s techniques gave Myorin a sense of fulfillment that couldn’t be compared to gaining fame.

“That spell inscription, it’s based on the Four Spirits, right?”

“You haven’t even seen it properly, yet you know?”

Though she used honorifics, her tone was quite aggressive.

But No Gosu didn’t seem to mind the sharp response and calmly replied.

“At my level, I can tell at a glance.”

The words “you’re so annoying” almost slipped out of Myorin’s mouth, but thankfully they didn’t make it past her lips.

“I’d know for sure if I saw the tattoo directly, but since it’s your sect’s secret, I won’t.”

“It’s fine. It’s not something you can just copy by looking at it.”

Myorin confidently tilted her chin up and spoke boldly.

“Alright. I can roughly tell just by looking at the visible parts.”

In a situation where Myorin’s pride was hurt and she looked ready to throw off her robe and demand a proper look, No Gosu continued.

“Let’s start by understanding what the Four Spirits are. The Four Spirits and the Four Gods have been used interchangeably since ancient times, but strictly speaking, their natures are almost opposite.”

Ignoring Myorin’s grumbling that she already knew, No Gosu started talking on their own.

“The Four Spirits are companions of sages, with a strong character as auspicious beasts, rooted in Confucianism. On the other hand, the Four Gods are based on the Five Elements and celestial studies, inherited from the numerologists. Later, the Hundred Schools of Thought mixed and divided repeatedly, so it’s almost laughable to trace their origins, but understanding the essence clearly helps.”

The representative of humans is the sage, the representative of feathered animals is the phoenix, the representative of furred animals is the qilin, the representative of shelled animals is the divine turtle, and the representative of scaled animals is the dragon.

The divine turtle is the spirit turtle, and the dragon, lacking horns but having wings, became the winged dragon.

These, along with the sage, are the spiritual beings that represent the world. Humans should not be arrogant and should harmonize with animals, and further, with nature. When the sage brings peace to the world, the Four Spirits appear, responding to the will of heaven. Thus, rulers should always consider the will of heaven and govern benevolently.

Confucianism placed the Four Spirits beside the sage to teach this. Because of this nature, the spell inscriptions of Myorin’s Four Spirits Tattoo are fundamentally focused on benefiting people rather than harming them.

The Dragon’s Roar repels demons, the Phoenix Feather leads to distant places, the Kirin’s Step hides from threats, and the Spirit Ghost Flame warns of danger.

Only the Dragon’s Roar has the power of a yin technique, but its effectiveness is halved when directed at humans because its unique spirituality doesn’t apply. However, it’s extremely powerful against those who practice Demonic Arts or Evil Arts.

The Cheongjeong Sect, which inherited the teachings of the Quanzhen Sect that taught Confucianism and Buddhism alongside Taoism, also embraced Confucian principles.

Thus, the Four Spirits Tattoo was created.

“But the Four Gods are different.”

“You just said they were similar.”

“True. In fact, the Four Gods have combined with the Four Spirits to form a Five Spirits system with the qilin at the center instead of the yellow dragon. But clearly, the natures of the two groups are opposite. While the Four Spirits are the foundation for benevolent governance that benefits humans, the Four Gods were created as the foundation for war, where humans destroy other humans.”

As seen in the Huainanzi’s “Left Green Dragon, Right White Tiger, Front Vermilion Bird, Rear Black Tortoise,” the Four Gods have distinct directions, unlike the parallel Four Spirits.

This was the ideological basis for military formations on the battlefield.

The belief that those who embody the celestial forms and act according to celestial numbers have the will of heaven with them, and that by arranging formations according to these directions, they could gain power and achieve victory.

The so-called “soldier-repelling spells” were the fundamental basis of worship towards the Four Gods.

Among them, the Black Tortoise was particularly significant.

The Black Tortoise symbolizes death.

The Black Tortoise symbolizes the north.

For the people of the Central Plains, the worst enemies always came from the north.

The northern barbarians were incomparable to the eastern pirates, western tribes, or southern barbarians.

Thus, for the Central Plains people, the north was the land of death, the land of fear, and the land that revered martial prowess more than any other.

The worship of the northern divine beast, the Black Tortoise, grew from this.

Using the fear from the north as fertilizer, the Black Tortoise transformed into a god known as the Dark Heavenly Emperor or the True Martial Great Emperor.

Even before Zhang Sanfeng came to Wudang Mountain, the worship of the Black Tortoise had already flourished there. During the Song Dynasty, suffering from northern barbarians, people worshipped the Black Tortoise, the Dark Heavenly Emperor, hoping for protection.

Even after the Yuan Dynasty ruled the Central Plains, they worshipped the Black Tortoise, the god of the north they came from, elevating the Dark Heavenly Emperor to the same level as the Primordial Heavenly Lord.

“Thus, the True Martial Great Emperor is both a god of war and a god of death. That’s why Wudang’s techniques are specialized in harming others.”

“…Isn’t Wudang’s foundation the Taiji? Wudang’s martial arts are purely soft.”

Myorin, now quite interested, asked seriously.

No Gosu muttered that it was a good question and then shook their head.

“That’s also correct. The Black Tortoise is a pair of a turtle and a snake, with both male and female in one body. The union of yin and yang is the Taiji. When the sect’s founder, Zhang Sanfeng, created Wudang’s martial arts, he focused on the union of yin and yang, the Taiji, embodied by the True Martial Great Emperor. But Wudang Sect wasn’t just Wudang after Zhang Sanfeng arrived.”

Zhang Sanfeng created Wudang Sect, but that was Wudang as a martial sect.

Before that, there were many Taoist temples and monasteries on Wudang Mountain.

And as Wudang Sect, founded by Zhang Sanfeng as a martial sect, grew with the support of the Yongle Emperor, it absorbed other temples on Wudang Mountain and expanded.

Thus, the current Wudang Sect’s techniques are a combination of the original Wudang Mountain techniques and the techniques of Zhang Sanfeng, an outsider.

“Zhang Sanfeng was deeply versed in both martial arts and techniques, but not as much in techniques as in martial arts. The sect’s techniques are closer to the original Wudang lineage.”

“Hmm… I roughly understand Wudang’s history. So, what’s the main point?”

Myorin’s hostility softened somewhat upon learning that Wudang’s origins weren’t solely from the Huashan Sect.

But since she wasn’t particularly interested in Wudang’s history, her tone became a bit brusque.

“Impatient, aren’t you? But by now, you should have a rough idea. Seems like you’re slow on the uptake.”

The clues had been given.

Though it seemed like No Gosu had been rambling aimlessly about the Four Spirits, Four Gods, and Wudang’s origins, the framework for improving Myorin’s techniques was embedded in that explanation.

Myorin suddenly thought of something but shook her head, feeling it was too absurd.

“…That’s possible?”

“It’s possible.”

The Four Gods and Four Spirits are incredibly similar, yet incredibly different.

Just as the Black Tortoise connects the snake and turtle, different beings, into one body, and the Taiji combines yin and yang, different elements, into one.

“If we can make the Four Gods coexist with the Four Spirits in that tattoo, wouldn’t it be possible to transform it into an incredibly aggressive technique?”

No Gosu’s eyes burned with an intense academic fervor and a desire to challenge, no longer trying to hide it.

“Won’t you trust this Heo Ryeo-mun, the Measure of Fate Immortal, and give it a try?”