Chapter 12: The Legacy of Heavenly Artisan

The Jianghu Murim was a place where extraordinary and eccentric individuals ran rampant.

Looking at it positively, it meant that there were many people who had achieved various accomplishments; looking at it negatively, it meant that there were truly a lot of strange people.

Typically, it could be said that half of the events worthy of being called miraculous encounters in the Jianghu occurred due to these extraordinary and eccentric individuals.

For reference, the other half occurred due to a group called the hidden recluses, and with an extremely low probability, beings called mysterious sects also appeared.

“It should be around here……”

The place I had now set foot in was a city named Jieshou.

This city with a rather unique name was located on the border between Anhui Province and Henan Province.

Jieshou was a city where people from Anhui who wanted to cross over to Henan gathered, so it was perfectly natural for me to be here.

As I reached the ridge on the outskirts of Jieshou, a familiar terrain finally came into view.

“This is it.”

The place I had found now was one of the remnants left by an extraordinary and eccentric individual who had made a name for himself in the Jianghu Murim.

This was the very place where the legacy of ‘Heavenly Artisan’, a master craftsman and a master of mechanisms and formations who had graced the previous generation, was hidden.

***

The treasure map indicating the legacy of Heavenly Artisan was released into the Jianghu Murim three years from now.

At that time, I was twenty-one years old, right after I had reached the First-Knot and escaped the grim task of begging for food.

My first mission as a First-Knot Beggar was to obtain various information about the legacy of Heavenly Artisan that was shaking the Jianghu, so I could not forget this place.

There was another reason why I couldn't forget this place.

It was because over a hundred casualties occurred in the fierce struggle to claim the legacy of Heavenly Artisan.

The martial tools of the master craftsman Heavenly Artisan were the best in the Murim, so much so that people rushed in, disregarding their own lives.

There was another reason for the bloody-catastrophe-level casualties.

As mentioned before, Heavenly Artisan was an eccentric who vied for the title of the best of his time in mechanisms and formations.

Most of them lost their lives to the mechanisms and formations hidden by Heavenly Artisan, and as they competed among themselves, disputes arose, and people lost their lives.

Thus, their number reached a hundred.

It was there that I first witnessed the true cruelty of the Jianghu Murim.

It was the moment when Dancheon Myeong, who had lived within the safe fence of the Dancheon Clan despite being a bastard and all, was reborn as Myeong-gae, a beggar of the Beggar's Gang living in the real Murim.

“There’s no need to see that sight again.”

I wasn't a particularly chivalrous man, but it also didn't suit my personality to leave a bloody catastrophe that was certain to happen as it was.

Furthermore, a martial tool that was essential to me was sleeping here, so it was truly killing two birds with one stone.

Rustle, rustle.

As I pushed aside the bushes, the entrance of a hidden cave revealed itself.

I knew that the legacy of Heavenly Artisan was sleeping inside.

Upon entering the cave, all sorts of mechanisms and formations would greet me.

The works of Heavenly Artisan that had taken dozens of lives.

“Shall we go in.”

One of the ironclad rules of the Beggar's Gang was not to get involved in the fierce struggles for treasure maps.

The logic was, what would they do with the treasures hidden at the treasure map markers since their pursuit was the life of a beggar, but I think it was the arrangement of the previous generation who loved the beggars of the gang.

Similarly, Myeong-gae, who had no intention of regressing until he was sufficiently prepared, had never looked inside a treasure map marker.

This meant that the path to the legacy of Heavenly Artisan was also an unknown territory for me.

Nevertheless, there was a reason I could step in with such confidence.

Tuk.

“Huh?”

It was at the same time as I heard something being stepped on.

Papat.

“Eh?”

Without any time to avoid them, flying needles that flew from a blind spot flew towards my body.

Ting, ting, ting.

“Hmm.”

However, the flying needles could not pierce my skin and fell to the floor.

I picked up a flying needle.

I could see a strange color smeared on the tip of the needle.

It was a clear evil intention.

“So it’s like this.”

If it had been a human attack with killing intent, I would have somehow avoided it, but since the lethal technique was scattered without any energy, it was not easy to avoid.

This was the reason why an unusually large number of martial artists lost their lives here.

The one who broke through this vicious legacy of Heavenly Artisan and reached the end to claim the treasure was a Luohan monk from Shaolin.

-How did you safely break through those mechanisms and formations?

-Amitabha.

He just gave an awkward smile and didn't answer, but everyone who knew could know the truth.

Skin like wood and a bulging solar plexus.

That Luohan monk was a master of the highest level who had achieved the Indestructible Diamond Body and was impervious to swords and blades.

“If it's this way, it'll be easy.”

So was I.

My body had reached the Second Stage: Golden Body of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art.

***

“Isn't this guy a complete madman?”

Praises that extraordinary and eccentric individuals would be delighted to hear came out of my mouth non-stop.

It was because I was fed up with the terrible evil intentions of the madman named Heavenly Artisan.

Although my body was fine without a single trace of blood, my clothes were in rags.

It was the result of breaking through the legacy of Heavenly Artisan by narrowly avoiding or being hit with my whole body by things like poison needles, spears that stabbed from blind spots, arrows automatically fired from the ceiling, dozens of sword tips that revealed themselves as the ground collapsed, and a large axe the size of a torso that swung with the force to rip the body apart.

Hmm.

To be honest, if I hadn't achieved imperviousness to swords and blades despite being at the Peak realm, I think I would have died about seventeen times.

“Still, I won. You damned old man.”

If Heavenly Artisan had been a master of formations, it would have been much harder.

Wuji, Yiyuan, Taiji, San Cai, Si Xiang, Wu Xing, Liu He, Qi Xing, Ba Gua, Jiu Gong, Shi Quan.

This was because the divine wonders created by the combination of these complicated things that were hard to pronounce at once were an unknown territory for me.

However, since mechanisms and formations were ultimately in the realm of physical force, thanks to my body that had achieved imperviousness to swords and blades, it was not easy, but I was able to break through.

And finally.

“Is this the end?”

I had reached the end of the cave where the legacy was arranged.

A single auspicious sword, receiving the light of a night-luminescent pearl embedded in the ceiling, was stuck in a rock the size of a torso.

That sword.

It was the reason I had come here.

I approached the sword.

My steps were cautious, in case there was a final, decisive mechanism.

“Phew.”

I could only feel relieved after placing my hand on the sword.

Sreureung.

Although it was a sword deeply stuck in a rock, it came out smoothly as if it were being drawn from a scabbard.

And as I drew the sword, I could confirm Heavenly Artisan's message carved into the rock.

-How is my skill.

His lofty confidence and inflated ego were read in the handwriting.

‘Madman.’

The most important information about the legacy of Heavenly Artisan came to mind.

It was the fact that it was Heavenly Artisan himself who had arranged for the treasure map about the legacy of Heavenly Artisan to be scattered in the Jianghu Murim.

It was a fact discovered through the persistent investigation of the Beggar's Gang.

He was a person who had planned to take dozens of lives to showcase his final work, so it was hard to see him in a good light, no matter how extraordinary and eccentric he was.

Since I had obtained his sword, I should give him an answer myself.

As I swung Heavenly Artisan's sword, the rock was sliced and the words I wanted were carved, even though I hadn't imbued it with sword qi.

[Bùxiàngyàng.]

It means unseemly or not presentable.

You are a master craftsman and a master of mechanisms and formations, but as a human being, you are a terrible person.

Still, I must acknowledge what I must.

As my sword moved, words were added below ‘Bùxiàngyàng’.

[dàn]

But.

[jiàn xiù]

Elegant Sword.

Nevertheless, I cannot deny the fact that your sword is the best.

I examined the sword once more.

The lofty blade, tinged with a mysterious red color, held the appearance of a famed sword.

And the name of the sword carved on the hilt, Dancheon.

It was a sword named Dancheon by Heavenly Artisan himself, meaning that it could even cut the other swords he had made.

The Dancheon Sword was truly Heavenly Artisan's final and greatest work.

The fact that the name of that sword was the same as my clan's surname made me wonder if this was also fate.

I took the sword, but it wasn't over.

“How expensive are night-luminescent pearls.”

My gaze turned to the night-luminescent pearl that was illuminating the famed sword, Dancheon.

A night-luminescent pearl the size of a fist and with considerable brightness would easily exceed the price of a mansion.

I reached out my hand to pull out the night-luminescent pearl.

Thud.

“Hmm.”

A sound that shouldn't have been heard was heard.

Having experienced this so often, it was familiar.

“Damn it.”

The light of the night-luminescent pearl, which had been emitting a considerable amount of light, weakened to a tenth of its original brightness.

It was not a good sign.

I felt a chilly energy lingering in the cave.

As the light source of the night-luminescent pearl weakened, the words on the ceiling, which had been hidden by the strong light, became readable.

-You wouldn't have guessed this, would you? This is the final gift for you who has deciphered my final work.

It seemed that to him, the true final work was not the Dancheon Sword, but this cave itself.

Kugugugugung.

The cave vibrated uneasily.

Since he was a human who created various mechanisms and formations that moved on their own, collapsing this cave would not have been a difficult task for him.

I tried to pull the night-luminescent pearl again, but for some reason, it wouldn't come out.

I couldn't be buried here while trying to get a night-luminescent pearl.

“Ha- what a son of a bitch.”

After giving high praise to the eccentric Heavenly Artisan, I gave up on the night-luminescent pearl and quickly evacuated from the cave.

Fortunately, I was able to avoid being crushed to death.

***

Mount Tianzhong in Henan, where I had obtained the Immaculate Pomegranate, was a three-day one-way trip from the Dancheon Clan.

Mount Tianzhong was located in the southeast of Henan Province and was close to Anhui Province, but Mount Song in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, was located northwest of the center of Henan, so it seemed to be a distance that would take at least five days.

Of course, this was based on Dancheon Myeong at the First-Rate level.

My movement arts, having reached the Peak realm and the Second Stage: Golden Body, were more fleeting than before, and I rarely got tired.

Thanks to that, I had arrived in Jieshou, the border between Anhui and Henan, in half a day and obtained the Dancheon Sword, so I still had plenty of time.

Thanks to this, I changed my course with a relaxed mind.

I left the shortest official road to Dengfeng County and headed south.

“Is it this way?”

The place I had set as my destination this time was the Dabie Mountains, a great mountain range that crossed the border between Hubei and Henan, in the southernmost part of Henan.

There, I would enter the Third Stage of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art, so I could guarantee that no up-and-coming prodigy would be able to stand before me at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.

***

There were various reasons for death in the Jianghu Murim, but the most common case was physical damage by weapons.

Martial artists who learned martial arts were no different from the common people.

If a weapon stirred up their stomach once or separated their head and torso, it was only natural that they would die, wouldn't it?

Since the most commonly used weapons in the Jianghu were swords and blades, it was a story expressed as 'getting stabbed by a knife'.

Then what would be the next cause of death after getting stabbed by a knife?

It would be nice if it was a natural death after living a full life, but the ruthless Jianghu was not such a beautiful place.

The answer was death by poisoning.

This was because it was not very difficult for those living in the Jianghu Murim to obtain poison.

Didn't I say that even the potent poison, Azure Scale Elixir, could be easily obtained at the entrance of the black market?

The lofty Taoists of the Nine Sects and the martial artists of prestigious clans did not use poison well, with the exception of the famous Sichuan Tang Clan.

But it would be correct to say that the majority, except for martial artists of that level, used poison.

From the wanderers one passed on the street, to the martial artists between the righteous and evil, the vicious heretics, and of course, the ruthless Demonic Cultists.

It was a daily routine to carry a poison or two in their bosoms along with their weapons.

The reason I suddenly talked about poison was that it had a great connection with the Third Stage that I would achieve in the Dabie Mountains.

With the First Stage, I laid the foundation of my body using the Immaculate Pomegranate.

This was Body Reformation.

With the Second Stage, I used the Azure Scale Elixir to achieve a body impervious to swords and blades.

It was called the Golden Body.

The name of the Third Stage was Impenetrable.

Anyone living in the Jianghu who heard the word 'impenetrable' would be reminded of that legendary realm.

That's right.

The Third Stage Impenetrable was the 'impenetrable' from 'myriad poison immunity'.