Chapter 98. Meeting the Sword Maiden of the West (1)

I was so startled by the sudden appearance of a stranger that I could only blink my eyes.

‘Could there be some confusion about my gender identity that I’m not aware of?’

But no matter how much I thought about it, that seemed impossible.

Even during the tumultuous 2010s, when the cultural world was swept by the inexplicable craze of otokonoko and nangja, I firmly defined them as heretical and paid them no heed.

‘There’s no way I could be struggling with my gender identity.’

I had no idea why a man appeared in my lucid dream.

After a moment of hesitation, I got up and asked cautiously,

“Excuse me, who are you...?”

The man smiled.

“I am a distant ancestor of the child you saved.”

...?

If he was talking about a child I saved, it could only be Jin-ho.

Thinking this, I looked at him again and noticed that his face had a resemblance to Jin-ho, in terms of appearance and the aura he exuded.

‘Could it be...?’

Although I thought it was unlikely, I asked out of curiosity.

“Could you be... the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi?”

He nodded with a grin, as if confirming the correct answer.

“That was my name in life.”

***

I was taken aback.

Why is the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi here?

I felt certain that I must be having a strange nightmare or hallucination.

‘Could I be lacking in qi lately?’

It was common to have hallucinations or strange dreams when one’s qi was weak, which meant I needed to nourish my body.

‘I should have a hot bowl of rice soup tomorrow; this can’t go on.’

I had been through a lot these past few days. I decided I needed to nourish my body and shook my head to make the hallucination disappear.

Then the man who introduced himself as the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi said,

“It’s not a hallucination.”

His words seemed to pierce through my thoughts. I tilted my head and asked him,

“I’m not sure I understand. Is this a dream?”

The Great Swordmaster of Taiyi laughed heartily. His laughter echoed through the hill. After a hearty laugh, he said to me,

“Sit down for a moment. Isn’t the breeze pleasant?”

“Y-Yes, it is.”

Indeed, the breeze was pleasant, carrying a sweet scent of peaches from afar. It was a refreshing and delightful wind, something I had never felt before.

The Great Swordmaster of Taiyi plopped down and patted the spot next to him. I hesitated for a moment but decided there was nothing to worry about and sat down next to him. He pointed to the peach orchard with his finger and said,

“Isn’t the scenery beautiful? It’s the view of my hometown.”

“My hometown?”

“Yes. My parents grew peaches. After they passed away from illness, the land was sold to others.”

As he spoke, he looked at the peach orchard with a wistful gaze, as if reminiscing about the past.

Not knowing what to say, I followed his gaze to the peach orchard, and he suddenly spoke.

“You asked if this was a dream earlier?”

“Yes...”

I nodded, and he shook his head slightly and said,

“It’s similar but not a dream. I’ve only invited your spirit here for a moment.”

“Just my spirit...? What exactly do you mean by that?”

“This place is a mental space I created in life, as the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi, for the benefit of my descendants.”

What does that mean?

Seeing my confused expression, he chuckled and added,

“To put it simply... it’s like the ‘Taiyi Secret Record’.”

***

According to his words, he was not the real Great Swordmaster of Taiyi.

“I am a remnant of his attachment to the mortal world when he transcended to immortality. In other words, a residual thought.”

A residual thought is a strong emotional imprint left on an object by a person’s intense feelings.

Why, there are haunted objects and cursed swords, right? When you touch them, your personality might change, and you might suddenly crave blood, for example.

Such things are typical examples of residual thoughts.

‘But he doesn’t seem much different from a regular person.’

Of course, being in a mental realm, there are some differences, but he seemed more like a ghost than a residual thought.

Putting that aside, there was something else I was more curious about: the part about the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi transcending to immortality.

“Did the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi really transcend to immortality?”

“Yes.”

“Wow... So immortals do exist.”

Transcending to immortality means that a Daoist practitioner, after achieving great enlightenment, sheds their physical body and becomes an immortal.

It’s like achieving enlightenment in Buddhism, something all Daoist practitioners aspire to, but very few are known to have actually achieved it.

Perhaps only figures like the Sword Immortal Yu Dongbin or the founder of the Wu Dang sect, Zhang Sanfeng?

‘After all, while some fall from the martial world, others ascend to the realm of immortals.’

Thinking about it this way, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

“Then what do you mean by ‘attachment’?”

The man in front of me said he was the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi’s attachment. I asked carefully, not fully understanding.

He smiled kindly and explained,

“Attachment to my family.”

“You mean the Yi Family?”

I asked, and he nodded.

“Yes. In life, I wanted to leave a lasting legacy in the world. That legacy was my family. To achieve this, I left the Wu Dang sect, even though it was a bit of a stretch.”

The story of the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi leaving the Wu Dang sect to establish the Yi Family was quite unusual, even by today’s standards.

‘It was indeed a unique move.’

It wasn’t just about setting a precedent; even from a cost-benefit perspective, it was a significant decision. After all, with his status in the martial world, he could have become the leader of the Wu Dang sect or the head of the martial alliance if he wished.

Leaving the Wu Dang sect to establish the Yi Family was akin to a corporate executive stepping down from a CEO position or the head of a business federation to start a startup.

‘There must have been a reason behind it.’

It was something I would never do, but there are people who dream of such things—those who want to have their own kingdom.

I nodded, understanding the situation.

“I see.”

“After fighting the Western Martial World and achieving enlightenment, I created the Taiyi Divine Skill and suddenly transcended to immortality. I hadn’t even had the chance to pass it on to my family.”

The Great Swordmaster of Taiyi shrugged, adding that it felt like a bolt from the blue.

Transcending to immortality was something all Daoist practitioners aspired to, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so suddenly. He shared his thoughts at the time.

I asked,

“Why didn’t you delay it and pass on the skill to your family before ascending?”

“If I had, my attachment would have deepened, and I wouldn’t have been able to ascend. To become an immortal, one must shed all attachments to the mortal world, including family and lineage.”

The Great Swordmaster of Taiyi shook his head and said so.

Indeed, I had heard that to become an immortal, one must achieve wuai (無碍), meaning freedom from all things.

“So, what did you do?”

I urged him to continue, and he said,

“After much deliberation, I decided to leave the memories and thoughts of the Taiyi Divine Skill in my remains. The relic you picked up is that.”

Hearing this, I understood the general situation.

‘So, you left the memories in a kind of cloud storage.’

To summarize, before ascending, the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi created a mental space and embedded the Taiyi Divine Skill in it in the form of thoughts. He then created a login window on his remains, so that when his descendants collected his remains, they could summon him and learn the skill.

He couldn’t leave without passing on the world-class skill to his descendants, nor could he give up on transcending to immortality, so this was a kind of last resort.

“Do you understand now?”

“Yes, I get the general idea.”

Understanding the story, I shrugged. At that moment, a refreshing breeze blew again. He faced the breeze with a relaxed expression and suggested to me,

“Shall we take a walk? I have many questions.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

I accepted the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi’s suggestion.

***

We walked through the peach orchard, chatting about various things. He seemed to have many questions, especially about the current state of the Yi Family.

I couldn’t hide anything, so I honestly told him what had happened to the Yi Family. When I finished, he looked very disheartened.

“...So, it came to this.”

“Yes... It came to this.”

Of course, no one would be happy to hear that their family had fallen after their death, but I could understand his feelings. He looked very bitter.

“I saw the child’s condition when you held him. I could tell it wasn’t good, but I didn’t expect the family to have fallen so far.”

He sighed lightly. Wanting to offer some comfort, I praised Jin-ho.

“At least Jin-ho is very intelligent.”

“That’s a relief... but you said he doesn’t want to learn martial arts?”

“Yes... He wants to study for the imperial exams.”

Worried that the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi might be upset, I said this cautiously, but he seemed unconcerned.

“Hmm... That’s another path.”

“Are you okay with it? Even if your descendant doesn’t become a martial artist?”

“Well, I’ll try to persuade him later, but he’s not the only descendant. He will have children of his own, won’t he?”

Generations pass down, he added.

I nodded in understanding, and he reached out to pick a peach from a tree and handed it to me.

“Have one. It’s quite delicious.”

“Thank you.”

Caught off guard by the sudden gift, I hesitated but decided to eat it gratefully. There was no pesticide, so I ate it with the skin. It was quite tasty.

‘Not bad.’

As I bit into the peach and savored it, the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi said,

“This is a token of my gratitude.”

“Gratitude...?”

“Yes. You saved my descendant.”

It seemed like a rather cheap reward for such a significant act.

As I ate the peach, he burst into laughter.

“It may seem trivial, but it will be quite helpful.”

“Helpful...?”

I didn’t understand how it could help with thirst. Seeing my confusion, he explained,

“Yes. I noticed that you have a lot of natural qi that hasn’t been fully refined in your meridians. This will help you refine it, and your inner strength will increase by about twice its current level.”

Doubling my inner strength would be equivalent to ten years of cultivation. That was a massive amount, something only top-tier or high-level martial artists could achieve. I was surprised and asked,

“Isn’t this a mental realm? How can something eaten here help in the real world?”

Surprised by the idea that something eaten in a mental realm could help in the real world, I asked, and the Great Swordmaster of Taiyi chuckled and replied,

“Yes, but it’s possible. This was originally a small arrangement for my descendants, but repaying a life debt takes precedence.”

I was amazed by this opportunity and licked the juice from my palms, bowing deeply in gratitude.

“Thank you, Great Swordmaster of Taiyi.”

“You’re welcome. I’m the one who should be grateful.”

We looked at each other and laughed heartily, a genuine expression of joy.

“I have one more request.”

“A request...?”

“Yes. It will be beneficial for you as well.”

He slowly took a few steps, with a peculiar and profound gait. I frowned, focusing on his movements.

‘Is this a stepping technique?’

After nine steps, he said to me,

“This is called the Nine Palace Step. With these nine steps, there is nothing you cannot avoid, and nothing you cannot approach.”

“The Nine Palace Step?”

“Yes. I can’t teach you the Taiyi Divine Skill, but I want to teach you this stepping technique.”

He asked me to pass it on to Jin-ho as well, saying that knowing this technique would give him a chance to survive in times of crisis.

I responded with a troubled expression,

“Even if you say that... wouldn’t it be better to teach it to him directly later?”

“Hmm? That’s a bit difficult. I used up all my energy calling you here, so I can’t do it for a while. Why is that?”

“I can’t remember it.”

If I could memorize it after one look, I wouldn’t be studying for the imperial exams.

Embarrassed, I confessed, and he made a thoughtful sound, nodding in understanding.

“Then you’ll have to try harder. Isn’t that right? Now, practice it ten thousand times. It’s easier to do it now while you’re young.”

The Great Swordmaster of Taiyi said this with enthusiasm.

Hell wasn’t far away.

***

When I opened my eyes, it was almost noon, and I realized that my recent experience was not just a dream. I could feel a massive surge of inner strength from my dantian, and the vivid memories of practicing the Nine Palace Step without rest came flooding back.

‘So, it really happened...’

I was moved to tears, realizing I had finally escaped that hell. Time in the ‘Taiyi Secret Record’ was different from the outside, about fifty times faster.

‘I thought my legs would break.’

I felt like I had