Chapter 18
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Reason for Escape (3)
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“Burp! That was a good meal.”
“There's a lot left. Should I make jerky out of it?”
“Yeah.”
“You should rest now. I'll clean up.”
“Oh, really? Thanks.”
Lifting the pot, Ma Dongpil glanced over at Seo Ryang. Seo Ryang had already gotten up and was walking toward the edge of the yard.
*He's gotten bigger.*
Seo Ryang had always been tall, but the aftereffects of his qi deviation had left him looking frail.
That Seo Ryang of the past was no more. His broad shoulders, well-honed body, and unwavering gait were the very model of a martial artist.
He had actually grown a bit taller, too. In the early days of their life in the Solitary Bamboo Forest, he had been about the same height as Ma Dongpil, but now Ma Dongpil had to tilt his head up slightly to look at him.
Some people have late growth spurts, but the change in his physique was astonishing.
“Young Master, your wound…”
“It's fine. I can handle this much with my internal arts.”
“Understood.”
Ma Dongpil had more he wanted to say, but he focused on cleaning up the area for now.
Seo Ryang reached the edge of the yard, opened the main gate, and stepped outside.
He took a deep breath.
“The air here really is amazing!”
*Even if it is a ridiculously dangerous place.*
The air was fresh, and his stomach was full. Most importantly, he had taken down that Green-Hoofed Beast that had gotten the better of him before.
It had been a fulfilling day.
“Though my arm is a bit sore.”
Seo Ryang frowned, looking at his left arm. The arm he had used to block the Green-Hoofed Beast's kick was swollen.
*Still, this isn't so bad.*
Smiling as he looked at his arm, Seo Ryang suddenly scanned his own body.
*Not bad at all.*
Now, after eight months, his body was close to perfect.
His well-developed pectoral muscles, abs as hard as stone, and lean, flexible limbs were quite a sight. It was hard to believe this was the same body that had once been so skinny his ribs showed.
*This place is certainly strange.*
The overly concentrated spiritual energy had not only created spiritual bamboo and birthed mystical beasts but had also transformed the bodies of those who lived here.
Of course, this was only possible because of his immense effort. Since entering the Solitary Bamboo Forest, he had never slept for more than four hours a day.
Even so, this wasn't a physique one could normally achieve in just eight months.
“That's why it's dangerous.”
Too much of a good thing can be bad. The bamboo and mystical beasts here had perfectly adapted to the environment, but humans could not.
At this rate, something would go wrong with his body before three months were up.
*I have to get everything I can before that happens.*
Seo Ryang sat down in a cross-legged position.
He closed his eyes and looked inward, feeling the pulse of his dantian.
This was a power he couldn't have imagined eight months ago. His surging internal energy felt as if it would burst out into the world at any moment.
*Come.*
The master's call.
His dantian responded to the soul's cry, filled with a powerful will.
*Woooooong!*
The swelling dantian boomed, shooting true energy through the meridians of his entire body.
*Fwoosh...*
The aftereffects of the hot power flowed out like smoke.
It wasn't evil, but it was vicious. It wasn't unstable, but it was ominous. It was a potent aura, a mere fragment of which could throw anyone in the vicinity into a state of panic.
Demonic energy.
The demonic energy he had been so wary of rose from his entire body.
*Shwaaaa!*
A faint haze shimmered over his shoulders and back. The internal injuries from his fight with the Green-Hoofed Beast were healing.
Even considering the high concentration of spiritual energy, the speed was excessive.
A smile played on Seo Ryang's lips. It seemed both bitter and satisfied.
*It's getting deeper.*
The quality of his demonic energy had deepened.
This had nothing to do with the spiritual energy. It was purely possible because his enlightenment was on a different level from other masters.
From now on, the demonic energy would improve in quality day by day.
*So what if it's a demonic art? You can't learn a martial art this great anywhere else in the world. I should consider myself lucky.*
The Shadowy True Demonic Art.
It was a martial art he had created by combining the Shadowy Art and the True Demonic Art.
The Shadowy Art, which had strongly inherited the strengths of Shaolin martial arts, had surprisingly not discarded its Buddhist elements even when combined with a demonic art. At the same time, its level of demonic studies was higher than that of the Ten Great Demonic Arts.
A collaboration between demon-subduing energy and pure demonic energy, which seemed utterly incompatible.
The result was beyond imagination.
*Crack! Craaack!*
The muscles all over his body rippled, and the brutal sound of his joints shifting could be heard.
His muscles and bones were slowly being reassembled. Each time he circulated his energy, his body subtly changed to better suit the martial art. He was progressing toward a divine body capable of simultaneously wielding the profoundness of Buddhist martial arts and the explosive power of demonic arts.
*Flash!*
Seo Ryang opened his eyes.
“Haaah.”
A sense of blissful pleasure was mixed in his unconscious exhale.
Just then, Ma Dongpil's voice came from the side.
“Are you finished?”
“Yeah.”
He had already cleaned the yard and was standing guard. Even though Seo Ryang could immediately stop his meditation if he sensed killing intent, Ma Dongpil must have still been worried.
Ma Dongpil quietly called out to Seo Ryang.
“Young Master.”
“What are you getting all serious for? Planning to nag me again?”
“Did you not promise me you wouldn't enter the dangerous areas alone?”
Seo Ryang scratched his head.
“What can I do? I'm running out of time.”
“Time?”
“Ah, you didn't know?”
“About what…?”
“This place is dangerous now. Or more accurately, it will be soon.”
“What do you mean?”
As Seo Ryang explained what he had sensed, Ma Dongpil's expression hardened instantly.
“Are you saying three months at most?”
“Yeah.”
“How can that be?”
“It's only natural for a place where the balance has been broken.”
*Balance? What did he mean by that?*
Seo Ryang pointed to his left arm.
“Look. The arm that was injured by the Green-Hoofed Beast has already healed this much, right? It'll probably be completely better by tomorrow morning.”
“That's a relief…”
“Do you think this is normal?”
“Ah… It certainly isn't, but…”
“When your skin is torn, your body heals the wound. But what happens if the healing speed becomes extremely fast? What happens if it keeps trying to heal even after it's fully recovered?”
“…”
Seo Ryang spread his fingers wide.
“It explodes.”
“…!”
“That's what the environment of the Solitary Bamboo Forest is like. It's good for growing up to a certain level, but the moment you hit a plateau, it immediately becomes poison.”
“In that case…”
“That's right. In three months—or two, to be safe—I have to enter the deepest part of the Solitary Bamboo Forest.”
“I see.”
“If I can just take down a couple more of those beasts, the path to the deepest part—a place I've never been—will open up. The best spiritual bamboo, the kind the Cult's leaders come to harvest, is there.”
Seo Ryang grinned.
“And I'm going to get it.”
Ma Dongpil sighed.
“Young Master, I will go and seek an audience with the Cult Leader.”
“Suddenly?”
“You just said something terrible will happen if we don't leave this place within three months.”
“Right.”
“But if the Cult Leader doesn't give the order, you will have to remain here…”
Seo Ryang tilted his head.
“Have you ever met the Cult Leader without me present?”
“…Pardon?”
“When did the Cult Leader ever say that?”
Ma Dongpil looked bewildered.
“Isn't it… obvious? He sent you here, so you can't return to your residence unless he gives his permission…”
“Pfft! Don't tell me you thought I've been stuck here for eight months because of the Cult Leader.”
“W-wasn't that the case?”
*Shhhk.*
Seo Ryang rose to his feet.
Tall with a sturdy build. Looking at his honed body alone, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with any peak master.
“The Cult Leader only told me to go to the Solitary Bamboo Forest; he never set a date for my return.”
“…!”
“It's something I realized after I started learning martial arts. The Cult Leader was granting my request. It just so happened to be the Solitary Bamboo Forest instead of some place on the outskirts.”
“Th-that interpretation…”
“Not a suitable place to get some fresh air? Well, you're right about that. But thanks to him, I got stronger, didn't I?”
Seo Ryang smiled.
It was a composure born after he had gained power—no, after he had accepted reality.
“I plan on taking everything I can get before I leave. That's why I've endured it this long. Because it's helpful to me, too.”
“…I see.”
Though he responded, Ma Dongpil still looked confused. He couldn't even begin to fathom the intentions of the absolute ruler of the Divine Cult—no, of the demonic path.
Not just him; most of the demonic practitioners in the Cult would be the same.
“Anyway, what about the thing I asked for?”
“Ah, please wait a moment.”
Ma Dongpil went into the room and came back with five packets of medicine, tea leaves, and a long weapon wrapped in black cloth.
Seo Ryang's eyes sparkled.
“You brought five packets of Purifying Herb?”
“Yes. He said he received some for personal experiments.”
Seo Ryang murmured in admiration.
“Amazing. How rich are they to supply a mere physician with Purifying Herb?”
“The Yunnan branch sends herbs every month. They say there are many herbs like this on the Ailao Mountains in Yunnan. They've even succeeded in cultivating some of them, so supplies are plentiful.”
“Ah!”
He had never been to the Ailao Mountains, but he had heard they were among the most rugged on the continent, teeming with all sorts of poisons, ferocious beasts, and rare flora.
“But how did you get the Purifying Herb…?”
“There are ways. Is this the Gulsong tea?”
“Yes.”
“Good. You did well.”
Seo Ryang tucked the medicine packets and tea leaves into his robes, his delight obvious.
“Just in case, I'm asking… can you get more of this Purifying Herb?”
“If you mean through my contact without anyone knowing, I honestly can't give you a definite answer.”
“Tch. Really?”
“Yes. This month, he's studying the formulation ratio for a tonic called the Strength Restoration Tonic using this herb. Since it's the main ingredient, we'll have to wait another couple of months to get more…”
“Wait.”
Seo Ryang tilted his head.
“What did you just say? Strength Restoration Tonic?”
“Ah, yes. I'm sure that's what I heard.”
“Purifying Herb is an ingredient in Strength Restoration Tonic?”
“That's right.”
Seo Ryang frowned.
The Strength Restoration Tonic… wasn't that the tonic he had been forced to drink for three months after waking up in this body?
“You said Purifying Herb is the main ingredient in the tonic? Are you sure?”
“I'm certain that's what I heard, but…”
*That doesn't make sense.*
As its name suggests, Purifying Herb removes impure energy. However, it also suppresses yang energy, so if a master of internal arts were to take it for a long time or overdose on it unknowingly, their body would be damaged.
No matter the processing, the fundamental properties of an herb don't change.
They fed an herb like that to a patient on the verge of death from qi deviation? And not just as a supporting ingredient, but as the main one.
It was even stranger considering his body was covered in the scars of demonic energy.
The Purifying Herb's properties are so strong that it even attacks demonic energy. It might be different if the demonic energy were vigorous, but using it on a ravaged body would be fatal.
“That's impossible. Anyone with even a little medical knowledge wouldn't prescribe that.”
As his suspicion grew, Seo Ryang lowered his gaze, lost in thought. Suddenly, he recalled another treatment.
“Dongpil.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Do you know something called the Golden Crystal Needle?”
He asked on the off chance, but surprisingly, Ma Dongpil nodded.
“Of course.”
“You do? What is it?”
“To be precise, it's more of an acupuncture technique than the name of a needle. It's a technique that slightly tenses overly relaxed muscles to balance the body.”
“How do you know that?”
“Before going on missions, I had it performed a few times on my body after it was loosened by energy circulation. It's not a difficult procedure. As I recall, it was quite effective…”
Ma Dongpil suddenly trailed off.
His Young Master's face had become expressionless, and his eyes held a familiar, cold, murderous aura.
*Giving Strength Restoration Tonic to an extremely weakened body, and using Golden Crystal Needles on a body that's stiff as a board?*
And to none other than the Cult Leader's disciple?
*There's no way that physician did it on his own.*
It would have to be at least a high-ranking leader or another disciple…
*A disciple?*
At that moment, the memory of Hong Yeorin flashed through his mind.
And the fact that she was the younger sister of a fellow disciple.
“…Look at these bastards.”