Chapter 1353: It's Just The Way Things Turned Out (Part 3)

Paaaah!

The surrounding landscape distorted, stretching out in a long blur as Chung Myung accelerated, driving the ground beneath him forward.

'Is it this way?'

Chung Myung squinted his eyes slightly and turned in the direction, accelerating even more.

A sharp scent tickled his nostrils, guiding him forward.

Following that scent, vivid memories of past conversations flooded his mind as clearly as if they happened yesterday.

- I don't need this?

- Just practice as you're told. It'll be useful once you learn. Why question it?

- I'm not a dog, why should I learn how to smell?

- There's no one better at smelling alcohol than a dog.

- What, you bastard?

A faint smile formed on Chung Myung's lips.

The fragrance, distinct even amid the thick scent of grass, was none other than the Tang Family's secret Vision-Manifesting Fragrance (萬里追從香).

The scent used by the Tang Family to track people during pursuits. Those skilled in its usage wouldn't miss this scent. Even if they couldn't smell it from a thousand miles away, they could easily chase for dozens of miles without a problem.

'It was a good idea to get it from the Tang Family in advance.'

Of course, he had to endure the strange look from Tang Ganak when receiving the Vision-Manifesting Fragrance, but it was well worth the effort.

The scent, buried into the unknowing Dong Ryong [lmfao], meant there was no need to worry about getting off course. Just following the scent would naturally place him at the forefront.

Without slowing down his speed, Chung Myung glanced down at his hands. After clenching and releasing them a few times, he nodded in satisfaction.

Despite fighting with an unconditioned body for quite some time, he felt more invigorated than tired. If his condition when leaving the cave was compared to full power, now it was at least 80%.

'Better than I expected.'

Certainly, the past Chung Myung benefited greatly from his internal energy's recovery capabilities.

The ability to continue fighting even after countless injuries, sometimes risking his life with severe wounds, could be attributed to the extraordinary efficacy of the Taoist lineage in healing and recovery.

However, the recovery speed demonstrated by his current physique surpassed even the expectations of that past Chung Myung.

With each swing of the sword and the pull of his internal energy, the pure energy flowing within him effortlessly expelled impurities and restored his battered body. It was as if his body was autonomously repairing itself, much like a home repairing itself over time.

'Nature...'

The purest energy in the world could be synonymous with the most natural internal energy. If so, it made sense. After all, nature was originally like that. Even if it crumbled and fell, given time, it would naturally return to its original form.

Yes, just like the current Mount Hua Sect.

Thaat!

Chung Myung's foot lightly touched the ground. Despite not exerting much force, the internal energy flowing through his legs lifted his body effortlessly.

It was a peculiar sensation.

His body moved leisurely, as if taking a stroll, yet the visible world around him rushed past at an incredible speed. In this moment of coexistence between two incompatible sensations, all the familiar senses he had taken for granted became entangled and blurred.

Paaaah!

With each step, his body accelerated even faster.

Soon, Chung Myung's eyes, which had reached speeds invisible to the naked eye, gradually lost focus.

'People are also part of nature... But reliance on their actions is artificial. Nature rejects artificiality and returns to its origins. So, nature excludes humans.'

As his eyes lost focus, an indescribable depth began to fill them.

'But... If people are a part of nature, then their will is also the will of nature. Why reject that will as artificial? The presence of will and the absence of it. Even animals show reliance in their actions...'

His thoughts flowed like water. The endless stream of thoughts, with no clear beginning or end, soon enveloped him like a mighty river. As his senses expanded, they also became ambiguous. The world became clear while simultaneously blurred.

The boundary separating him from the world gradually blurred away.

It flowed and flowed. But ultimately, that flow returned to the beginning.

The shape of yin and yang merging. Yet that form soon distorted, turning back into the shape of a circle.

'A circle is equality. It has no beginning, no end, and it continues infinitely. Life is both the end and the beginning, and it is also a continuation of closure...'

"Huh?"

Chung Myung momentarily widened his eyes. After blinking a couple of times, his face contorted in bewilderment.

"Whoa, shit! I missed this!"

Just now, he had clearly entered the realm of enlightenment. He couldn't recall when was the last time he set foot in that realm.

Attaining enlightenment was akin to overcoming a barrier. It was a triumph that could not be expressed as an achievement by someone non-human. Originally, when learning the Unhindered Path, there were two barriers—one of the body and one of the mind. While his body had yet to reach its past state, the evident proof was his mind progressing beyond the past.

But...

"Huh?"

Why did he wake up?

Usually, enlightenment wasn't something easily broken once attained. Typically, one would feel inadequacy at the end of reasoning and voluntarily withdraw. But now, it felt as if he was forcibly blocked by something...

Tick. Tick.

Chung Myung's toe probed the empty air.

Only then did he realize that he hadn't touched anything with his feet since a while ago. The vast expanse of sky unfolded in front of him belatedly.

"Sky...?"

The ground stretched endlessly below. Behind him, he could see a cliff that he couldn't remember when he had jumped off from.

Wow, he had jumped all the way from there to here. Quite a long jump...

"Aaaaah! Hey, you crazy person!"

Chung Myung's body started plummeting rapidly, and he began to flail helplessly.

But no matter how much he struggled with his arms and legs, there was nowhere to grab, nowhere to reach. How could he catch a cliff that was already more than thirty yards away? He wasn't the Monkey King (Sun Wukong). 

"Heeeeeek!" 

As the ground rapidly approached at a frightening speed, Chung Myung desperately expelled energy. The recoil slightly slowed his fall.

At that moment, a tall pine branch caught his eye. The moment he saw the thick, protruding branch, his eyes lit up.

'I have to grab that!'

Kicking the air forcefully, Chung Myung pushed his body to the side and reached out with all his strength. The moment his fingertips touched it, he snatched the thick branch.

'It worked...'

Whoosh!

"Huh?"

Kuuuuung!

Finally, Chung Myung's body, which had been plummeting headfirst, shivered painfully and went limp.

Thud.

The broken pine branch beside him casually rolled.

Still, fortunately, he didn't die, and a sneeze immediately burst from his nose. Dry dust puffed up from the parched soil.

"Kkuueeuu..."

With both hands, he laboriously touched the ground, lifting his face from the earth. A nosebleed flowed from his nose.

Though the tree branch broke, thanks to it, he didn't crash. Whether that could be considered fortunate needed some thought.

"...Kkuueeuu..."

Straightening his twisted nose, he smoothed out the nosebleed. Red blood dripped onto the ground. Chung Myung sat down at that spot with a despondent face.

"This..."

They say unlucky people break their nose even falling backward, and but he was unlucky to the point where he would fall off a cliff even when gaining enlightenment...

"If I experience enlightenment twice, I might really end up in the afterlife! Is this even reasonable? Is it?"

He wanted to achieve enlightenment, but who said he wanted to go straight to the afterlife?

"Amidst all this running, why does enlightenment come?"

Chung Myung helplessly scratched his head with a disappointed expression.

If it weren't for the cliff, he could have grasped something. Due to the sudden appearance of the cliff, he was forcibly pushed out of enlightenment. The more he thought about it, the more his stomach turned.

Of course, Chung Myung knew. There was no need to obsess over that fact. Once enlightenment was attained, it would return sooner or later. If he patiently waited, it would come back. By unnecessarily lamenting and clinging to it, one could inadvertently move further away from enlightenment.

Understood. He understood very well. The problem was...

"Ohhhh! It's a shame!"

Chung Myung rolled on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

Knowing and being able to do everything—was that really Chung Myung? Even if he knew, his stomach twisted because he was Chung Myung.

Even if he claimed to have advanced mentally a bit now, it was unlikely he would reach the point of effortlessly regaining his past mastery and achieving great feats, but still, it would have become somewhat easier!

"Why did there have to be a cliff! This is why the paths people take should be completely leveled by cutting mountains and filling rivers to make everything flat!"

- Oh, Heavens. That's crazy.

"Kkaak! Be quiet for a moment!"

Chung Myung spewed fire into the air.

"If you're a man, you should know when to wear it and when not to wear it! You're not fanning the flames, and if you're in trouble, you don't know where to sit, you just sneak your butt in!" [Don't ask, lol]

Chung Myung, who vigorously scolded the sky, flinched for a moment and stopped his hands. It occurred to him that it had been a long time since I heard Cheon Mun's voice so vividly in his ears.

"Tsk."

Feeling somewhat awkward, he casually scratched the back of his head. As a human, it seemed his heart was somewhat relieved after crossing Hundreds Thousands Mountains.

"Living for a long time gives you all kinds of experiences."

Chung Myung, who dispelled the awkwardness with a snort, flew after the now faint scent. His body moved like the wind again. There was no significant difference from a little while ago, but once again, the clues to enlightenment didn't easily return.

He tasted the disappointment but had to shake off the lingering regret and keep running.

'But still...'

In the eyes of Chung Myung, who was silently running, a peculiar light emerged.

'What was that?'

The flow that streamed like a powerful river. It twisted and turned as if the beginning and end touched each other, like the Tai Chi symbol where yin and yang merged. However, the yin and yang soon broke the boundaries and merged into one.

It was the origin of the absolute, perhaps called the primordial. Chung Myung knew the concept of the primordial, but this was the first time he confirmed the form of the primordial in the world of imagination. This fact would undoubtedly lead Chung Myung one step further.

However, what Chung Myung was thinking about now was not the primordial.

Before being pushed out of enlightenment, he clearly saw it.

The signs that the eternal flow of the circle was changing into something.

'There is definitely something behind it.'

It might be a place that Chung Myung hasn't reached yet. No, perhaps something that has never been conveyed even as a concept.

At the moment of understanding the meaning of that circle, it might open. An absolute greatness that cannot be reached. A way to confront that god-like being.

His fingertips trembled faintly.

'But still...'

A complex light appeared on Chung Myung's face for a moment. If his expectations were correct, that circle would be an extremely awe-inspiring thing. It would be a deep and profound truth that encompassed everything Chung Myung had learned.

However, why did it feel so ominous even though he found what he was looking for? What could be behind that?

"Tsk."

Chung Myung, who was lost in thought, lightly stuck out his tongue and shook his head.

"Because I'm full." [not sure]

Chung Myung, who expelled the nausea that had invaded his mind, put strength into his legs with a refreshed face.

'Think about it later. For now, let's do what I need to do.'

A cloudless, blue sky looked down upon him as he cut through the forest leading to a mountain range. Warmly, yet indifferently.