Chapter 22
Ping!
"Ugh..."
Ping!
"Ugh..."
Ping!
A small sound of something breaking the air, tickling the ear, followed by a groan.
If one followed the strange sound, one would find Agong in a corner outside the tavern, holding a large bow and clutching his head.
"It's hard. It's so hard."
Agong, who had been sick in bed for three days with a high fever, perhaps due to the drink offered by Sorin, whom he had met while following Master Gongsun, was practicing drawing the bow while using the Nine Palaces Divine Steps in a corner of the tavern.
"Why on earth isn't this working!"
He tried hitting his own head in anger, and he tried again slowly, but when he focused on the bow, his feet would get tangled, and when he focused on the footwork, it was hard to find the target.
As his concentration wavered, the situation worsened.
"Ugh!"
Agong plopped down on the spot.
Although his body felt a little lighter, the more he practiced, the more his body and mind seemed to get tired from repeatedly being at a standstill.
—Even the same movement changes depending on the mind.
When happy, when sad, when lonely, when calm.
Since the steps follow the mind, when using the divine steps, one must either control the mind or use the divine steps according to the mind.
Cook Li had always instilled in Agong the secret formula that was the essence of the divine steps while he was practicing the Nine Palaces Divine Steps.
"Why can't you just teach me easily..."
The first martial art he had learned, although it was the worst martial art that had endangered his life, had not been very difficult to learn.
Of course, for Agong, it was a memory that made him grit his teeth even when he thought about it again.
The True Heart Auxiliary Method of the Black Contemplation Fortress was originally explained in a way that was as easy as possible for the user to learn, and its secret formula and operation were also concise. Moreover, since Zhao Wei had helped him with the path, he had been able to learn it easily.
But the secret formulas of supreme martial arts were originally abstruse and not standardized.
Depending on the time, and on the practitioner's interpretation of the martial art, it could be manifested in completely different forms.
That was why, when teaching a supreme martial art, it was common for the master to tell the disciple his own understanding and interpretation of the martial art's secret formula and the method of training, and to help him retrace the path he had walked.
But the relationship between Cook Li and Agong was a bit subtle to be called a master and a disciple.
Because of this, Cook Li had no intention of teaching Agong his interpretation of his secret ultimate skill.
Originally, a martial artist who understood while practicing martial arts could have walked a new path based on the secret formula, but Agong had not even reached the tip of that level.
In the end, it was natural for him to hit a wall like this after reaching a certain level.
"So you were here."
"Huh?"
Agong, who was looking down at the deeply dug-up dirt, turned his head at the voice he heard from behind.
There, a welcome guest was showing himself.
"Old man Tongtian!"
Agong, in his joy, instantly blew away his gloomy mood and ran to Tongtian.
Tongtian, showing a faint smile on his lips, looked at Agong and nodded slightly.
"Yes, have you been well?"
"Why haven't you visited for so long?"
"There was a bit of a noisy incident recently, so I wasn't in a position to visit the tavern."
Although he said it was a bit of a noisy incident, the fact that a noisy incident had occurred in the Hermit's Valley was a surprising situation in itself.
Recently, not only had the Black Qilin broken his seclusion and left the Hermit's Valley, but the incident of the Blood Demon Lord's disappearance had also occurred.
There was an opinion that the Blood Demon Lord had also made his debut in the martial world, but to see it that way, the shockwave that had shaken the Hermit's Valley at the time was suspicious.
For such a shockwave to occur in the Hermit's Valley was only possible when supreme masters displayed their martial arts with all their might.
As a result of Tongtian's investigation, he had learned through a conversation with the Star Lord, one of the three elders of the Non-Duality Gate, that a sorcerer of the Non-Duality Gate was also related to the shockwave.
If so, there were three possible predictions.
The Blood Demon Lord and the sorcerer had joined forces and left the Hermit's Valley.
The Blood Demon Lord and the sorcerer had fought each other and both were defeated.
The Blood Demon Lord and the sorcerer had been defeated by Old Ancestor Hongjun.
Whatever the conclusion, he would not see them again in the Hermit's Valley.
"Are you okay now?"
"Well... it's settled for now, but..."
Tongtian narrowed his eyes, looking at Agong's bow, which had been strangely familiar since a while ago.
At a glance, it looked like an item with a very luxurious material and the touch of a craftsman.
"Ah, this is the fishing rod you made for me, grandpa."
Agong, seeing Tongtian examining his Tonglin, hurriedly untied the line from the loop and changed Tonglin back to its original fishing rod form.
"Huh!"
Tongtian was surprised to see the bow turn into a fishing rod, and he was surprised again to hear that it was the fishing rod he had made.
Looking closely, the line of the fishing rod was the Heavenly Silkworm Silk he used, and it was clearly the line he had attached to Agong's fishing rod.
"The fishing rod has become excellent while I haven't seen you."
"Well..."
Agong excitedly explained the process of how Tonglin was made through Sorin and Miss Mu during the time he hadn't seen Tongtian.
Tongtian was not very pleased to hear that the hands of the elders of the Non-Duality Gate had touched the gift he had given.
"Then what were you doing here?"
"Hunting practice."
"Hunting practice?"
"Yes, old man Hongjun said he would soon ask me to get ingredients to be used at the tavern..."
"Hoho..."
Hearing that the reason Agong was standing behind the tavern with a bow was for hunting practice, Tongtian let out a short sigh.
In a situation where even a healthy martial artist had become food for the demonic beasts in the Hermit's Valley and it had been designated as a forbidden zone, to ask a child who had not even properly learned martial arts to catch them was an excessive act, even for Hongjun.
'Even so, did he just order him to do it without any measures?'
Old Ancestor Hongjun's actions were so unpredictable, but on the surface, he was also a person whose results were clear later, even if he did useless things.
It was clear that Hongjun would not have pushed Agong into a situation where he would surely die without any measures.
"Then show me that hunting practice."
"Well... it's too shabby..."
"Wouldn't it be better for me to help you than for you to struggle alone like that?"
"That's true..."
Even if he asked Cook Li for help, it was obvious that he would just hear the straightforward words that he should just practice the Nine Palaces Divine Steps well and hunt with an axe.
Agong, after hesitating for a moment, pulled the string of Tonglin to make it a bow, and then carefully took a step and drew the bowstring.
'Nine Palaces Divine Steps?'
Tongtian, seeing the marvelous footwork that Agong was displaying, was able to recognize the identity of the footwork at once.
The direction of the footwork was marvelous and confusing, a supreme lightness skill that roamed the nine directions.
It was the unique martial art of the Shadowless Divine Thief, who was said to move like a ghost, so that not even his shadow could be seen.
"Did you learn martial arts from Cook Li?"
"He did teach me... but... no."
Agong uttered both an affirmation and a denial at the same time.
This was because Cook Li, while Agong was practicing the Nine Palaces Divine Steps, had gritted his teeth and warned him not to say that he had learned the Nine Palaces Divine Steps or that he had learned it from him.
Tongtian, whether Agong affirmed or denied it, knew the answer anyway, so he looked at Agong with a strange feeling.
He didn't know what had happened during the time he hadn't visited, but it was clear that there had been many changes in Agong.
First of all, Agong's complexion had noticeably improved, and the gloomy energy he had exuded until recently was gone.
Moreover, the fact that he was practicing the Nine Palaces Divine Steps, a supreme footwork, was only possible if he was practicing a supreme cultivation method that could support it.
If he had become Cook Li's disciple, he wouldn't be rolling on the ground alone like this, so he hadn't learned his cultivation method.
'Don't tell me Hongjun...'
Old Ancestor Hongjun's martial arts, including their origin, were all mysterious and also of unknown identity.
Which sect it belonged to, whether the root was the martial arts of the Central Plains or outside the world.
Whether it was a righteous path, an evil path, or a demonic path martial art.
In the first place, in the Hermit's Valley, where masters who encompassed the righteous, evil, and demonic paths were in seclusion, it didn't make sense that they didn't know the identity of Hongjun's martial arts.
There was a possibility that it was a divine art from the West or outside the world that they didn't know, but even that could not be guaranteed.
If Agong had learned martial arts from Hongjun, it could be a golden opportunity to know the identity of his martial arts.
"Let me check your pulse for a moment."
Agong, at the words that he would check his pulse, entrusted his body to Tongtian without much wariness.
Tongtian stretched out his hand and pushed a little of his qi into Agong's eight extraordinary meridians.
It was in the hope that if he saw the flow of Agong's qi, he might be able to get a glimpse of the end of Hongjun's martial arts.
The qi flowing through Agong's eight extraordinary meridians, although weak, was spreading throughout his body and enveloping his blood and qi.
The energy of the dantian spreading out in nine directions and protecting the blood and qi was a martial art that Tongtian knew of only one in the world.
'Nine Gates True Scripture!'
The Nine Gates True Scripture was the unique martial art of the Taoist Lingbao, one of the elders of the Mountain Peak Sect.
Tongtian was dumbfounded by the fact that Lingbao had taught his unique martial art to Agong in that short time.
"Did you receive teachings from the Taoist Lingbao?"
"Well... he got angry when he saw me practicing the Heavenly Demon Hand..."
Agong told Tongtian the story of how Lingbao had gotten angry when he was imitating the Heavenly Demon Hand, and how he had almost died from the cultivation method that the Slender Moon Squad had taught him while trying to avoid Lingbao.
And he also told him the story of how he had healed his body with the help of the Taoist Lingbao and had been half-forced to practice his martial arts.
"Hoho... such things in a short time."
Tongtian, knowing that the reason Agong's condition had not looked good and that his strength was outstanding despite his appearance was because of the internal energy cultivation method of the Black Contemplation Fortress, clicked his tongue briefly.
Indeed, the eyes that could see through the flow of true energy at a glance could not be matched by the True Man Lingbao.
It was a moment when he realized his own carelessness in having felt something strange but had passed it over without even checking his pulse.
Perhaps it was a stroke of luck for Agong that he had met Lingbao in front of such an accident.
If Agong had fallen into qi deviation in front of Tongtian, Tongtian, unlike Lingbao, might not have given him unreserved help.
'Then did he teach him his unique martial art after seeing him secretly learn the Heavenly Demon Hand?'
To Tongtian, who was called the pinnacle of the demonic path, the fact that the Black Contemplation Fortress had made Agong learn a vicious cultivation method was not an event that would move Tongtian's heart.
In the ruthless martial world, things worse than that happened, and even worse things were done.
Rather, what bothered Tongtian's mind was that Lingbao had taught Agong his unique martial art even though he knew he was learning the Heavenly Demon Hand.
Even if he hadn't taught him the Nine Gates True Scripture, he could have saved Agong's life with Lingbao's elixir and treatment.
Nevertheless, the fact that he had forced him to learn it was clearly an act conscious of himself.
"How dare he think of competing with me? The old long-nose has done an insidious thing."
"What?"
"Did you say you practiced the Heavenly Demon Hand?"
"I just imitated it..."
To be precise, it would be a more accurate expression to say that he had stolen a glance at the Heavenly Demon Hand and followed it.
Agong, when it was revealed that he had been secretly imitating the Heavenly Demon Hand without Tongtian's permission, showed his bewilderment, not knowing how to react.
"Give me the fishing rod."
Agong, without a word, handed Tonglin, which had turned into a bow, to Tongtian.
When Tongtian held Tonglin in his hand, he felt a faint power transmitted to his fingertips.
He didn't know what kind of technique the people of the Non-Duality Gate had performed, but the fishing rod had become a kind of artifact.
Tongtian lightly pulled the Heavenly Silkworm Silk, which had turned into a bowstring, and aimed at the stone target that Agong had marked.
Ping!
He had only pulled and released the bowstring without an arrow, but the stone target that Agong had set up scattered stone dust and flew into the air.
Tongtian, as he was, lightly stepped on the air and jumped up, drawing the second string.
Ping!
The fist-sized stone target that had floated in the air shattered into small pieces in the air.
Swoosh!
As Tongtian turned his body and swung Tonglin greatly, Tonglin soon became a long, outstretched fishing rod. The silver line began to dance in the air.
"Huh?"
Agong was surprised by Tongtian's mysterious movements, which did not match his age, and he was surprised again by the familiar hand movements.
It was the Heavenly Demon Hand.
It was a little different from the movements when he was fishing, no, what he was showing now was clearly the real Heavenly Demon Hand.
The dozens of stone fragments, which had been shattered as small as a fingernail, began to scatter into dust in the air.
The Heavenly Demon Reigning Steps, which was said to be the steps of the supreme one of the ten thousand demons, and the peerless hand art, the Heavenly Demon Hand.
The number one divine art of the demonic cult was being displayed.
(End of Chapter)