Chapter 10 (4)
Chapter 10 (4)
Phew...
Removing waste is harder than I thought.
It's a good thing I learned martial arts, otherwise, I might have been so exhausted from shitting that I would've just collapsed, because it just kept coming out.
After expelling the waste through my bowels, I confirmed that a yellowish liquid was also oozing out of my pores, so I went into the stream to wash my body.
Alright, now I'm ready.
All that's left is to eat the 3,000-year-old Humanoid Child Ginseng.
But 3,000 years is just a number; considering the energy of this place and the nutrients in the high-quality soil, I suspect it might actually be a 10,000-year-old Humanoid Child Ginseng.
That's why many players ate it without a plan and either died or became cripples who couldn't use martial arts.
But I've had a plan ever since I thought about the Fire Artisan's legacy.
If you use Extreme Yang martial arts to control the Extreme Yang energy, the difficulty drops significantly.
On top of that, I've built a foundation with the medicinal herb Ha-yeon gave me, and with my body's superior stats, it shouldn't be a problem.
"S-h-h-h... Phew..."
Still, the thought that some players died keeps lingering in my head.
However, the fear of not being able to hold a woman if things stayed like this was greater than the fear of death, and the moment I thought of that damn cow bitch, my anger swallowed even the fear of death.
"Alright, here I go."
I carefully dug up the Humanoid Child Ginseng, making sure not to damage even the smallest root hairs, and pulled it out.
Swoosh!
"Oh, yeah."
Big and beautiful.
No, no, I'm not trying to use that cliché that's out of style now.
It really is big and beautiful.
The limbs and torso, which look like a person's, resemble those of a young child no matter how you look at it.
Honestly, it's a bit uncomfortable to eat.
But that's that, and this is this.
I didn't want to eat the dirt along with it, so I washed it gently in the stream, cleaning off all the soil without damaging a single root hair.
"Alright, time to eat."
I muttered to myself to steel my resolve, then took a big bite out of the Humanoid Child Ginseng, which was the size of my finger to my wrist.
Crunch!
Ugh, it's bitterer than I expected!
But to make that Sword Empress, that cow bitch, pay the price for lecturing me like a Confucian Taliban, I have to endure it and eat it!
If I eat it piece by piece, it won't be effective, so I chewed it quickly, devoured the entire Humanoid Child Ginseng in one go, and quickly sat cross-legged to enter a state of internal energy circulation.
"Ugh!"
I can feel an intense energy!
It's rising up without any warning!
Focus! I need to focus!
I knew it would be intense, but I never imagined I'd feel energy this strong, so I cleared my mind and desperately focused on circulating my internal energy.
My whole body feels like it's burning!
Having learned the Fire Artisan's martial arts and the Yang Arts internal energy cultivation method, I've become so resistant to fire attributes that I'd usually just think 'it's a bit stuffy' even in a normal furnace, but this is insanely hot!
I desperately used my internal energy cultivation method to start spreading the internal energy that was filling my stomach and threatening to explode throughout my entire body.
Because I have a body as clean as a newborn baby's thanks to the Shennong's Tea Leaves, the internal energy of the Humanoid Child Ginseng flowed smoothly without the slightest blockage.
That way, little by little, I put the internal energy into my Dantian without causing any trouble.
Good, at this rate, it will take some time, but I can safely...
Vroom!
"Ugh!"
In an instant, the energy I felt in my stomach at the beginning started to double.
I felt a level of pain that almost made me lose consciousness.
"Ugh... Argh...!"
Damn it! It's dangerous...!
This is stronger than I expected...!
I felt pain as if my whole body was about to burst, but because of that, a smile started to form on my face.
Yeah...! This is how it should be!
To crush the Sword Empress! And to grind the Heaven-Breaking Association into dust, I need to have this level of power!
Anger and lust.
These are the driving forces and the power that allow me to endure this.
A noble purpose to save the world?
Bullshit! Getting females that suit my taste is more important than that!
I will definitely digest this!
To build my own harem!
And to kill everyone who gets in the way of my harem!
Vroom!
Ugh! It's getting even bigger?!
It's a slight level higher than before, but all my meridians are saturated with the energy of the Humanoid Child Ginseng.
If I take any more pressure, my body won't be able to hold it!
I can't let this energy spread any further!
Then... I'll condense this energy!
It's not a question of whether I can or can't, I have no choice but to do it!
If it gets any bigger from here, my body won't be able to take it!
I condensed the energy filling my Dantian and stomach, trying to somehow make room in the space.
If even a part of the talent I set initially had been in the 90s instead of 100, my body would have already burst and died.
I just need to condense it and make some room for a while!
1 hour... no, I just need to make room for about 30 minutes!
If I do that, I can digest this thing!
Crack! Crackle!
I heard some tearing sounds and felt indescribable pain all over my body, but I didn't have the luxury to pay attention to that.
Because I was on the critical boundary where if I lost my focus even for a second, the condensing internal energy would spread out and my body would burst.
"...Huh?"
What is this.
Why can I see the sky.
What the hell.
"No way? For real? Honto? Maji?"
Did I faint again?
I want to deny it, but the dark blue sky and the twinkling stars are denying my denial.
As I said before, I keep feeling like I'm fainting, something I might do once in a lifetime if I lived forever in the modern world, ever since I came to this damn Murim world.
Like I said before, fainting feels like being forced to time travel, so it feels like shit.
No, before that, if I fainted in a state where it's dangerous to lose focus... did I come to the afterlife?
After realizing that I was lying comfortably on the ground, I checked the state of my body.
Vroom--!
"...Damn."
I can feel a powerful force that I couldn't even imagine until now.
I'm not joking, I feel like I could storm the Demonic Cult right now.
I got up to check my body's condition a bit more.
Rustle--
"What is this."
As I stood up, something thin that felt like dry leaves fell off me.
What is this?
No, before that, why am I naked?
I don't know what happened, but it's like some event just flashed by.
Information about what happened to me is important.
First, I put the thin thing on my palm, and to see it clearly, I used Yang Arts on my palm to create a flame...
Whoosh!
"!?"
In an instant, a fireball with tremendous size and firepower popped out.
It's a shocking event, like using a lighting spell but getting Hellfire instead.
I hurriedly controlled my energy to extinguish the fireball, and my expression turned absurd.
"To think I've become this strong... well, with this much energy..."
I was shocked at first, but after checking how much my internal energy had grown, it made sense.
I adjusted my energy again, created a flame about the size of a bright torch, and took a closer look at the thing that looked like dry leaves.
"This... it's in the shape of flesh...?"
The thin thing that came off my body.
As I checked my body here and there, I noticed something strange on my right arm muscle.
I discovered a piece of skin that was cracked like a drought-stricken rice paddy.
When I touched it lightly,
Rustle-
It crumbled helplessly, making the sound of dry leaves.
"No way."
The last thing I felt was the pain and sound of my body tearing.
"Hwangoltaltae? Is this for real?"
First, I went to the stream and soaked my body, and as I washed my whole body, the pieces of skin washed away down the stream.
Checking my clean body, I could see muscles that were a bit more inflated than before.
Overall, my body's muscles were firmer than before, and the shape of my skeleton had changed.
I could feel it because I had learned martial arts.
That my current body was firmer and easier to move than before I ate the Humanoid Child Ginseng.
"No, no, wait. I've definitely seen stories about people experiencing Hwangoltaltae after eating this... but I knew it was only possible if you reached at least the Hwagyeong realm, and even then, almost at the very end?"
The internal energy increase from eating the Humanoid Child Ginseng is definitely about 20,000... no, the game system is gone now... could it be?
"The game system is gone now. If so... was the internal energy increase value lower compared to the settings created by the game company?"
Come to think of it, some guys who looked like Wuxia nerds complained in the comments, comparing it to other medicinal herbs, saying, 'Is it possible that a 3,000-year-old Humanoid Child Ginseng is only slightly better than a Great Hwan-dan?' and grumbled that the internal energy increase value was too stingy.
In the game, no matter what the settings were, the system's numbers were absolute.
However, what if I gained all of its inherent abilities as the game system disappeared?
If so, the reason I almost died is also explainable.
I heard that the difficulty drops if you learn Yang Arts-related martial arts and internal energy cultivation methods, but I almost died with a 'pop' if I was careless for even a second.
"That aside... is this my power now?"
No matter how much I infer the process, it's just an inference in the end.
Let's just focus on the results for now.
I'm not joking, power is overflowing throughout my body.
I feel confident that I could win even if hundreds or thousands of enemies were in front of me.
When you undergo Hwangoltaltae, the maximum values for aptitude, bone structure, eye technique, hearing ability, flexibility, physical hardness, and talent increase from 100 to 120, and the aforementioned stats increase by +20.
However, it is a natural fact that even without a game system, you become even stronger if you undergo Hwangoltaltae.
In other words, regardless of martial arts or internal energy, my body has already exceeded the limits of a human.
I used a part of this power and put my fist, filled with Extreme Yang energy, into the stream.
Bubbling!!
"!!"
At the same time, the entire stream started to boil, and countless fish moving in the stream floated to the surface, cooked and helpless.
In the past, I would have had to use all my internal energy at full power to make that possible, but now it was possible with just a fraction of my power.
I'd like to use my power to my heart's content, but if I did that, this perfect utopia could collapse.
If I'm not careful, the formation and illusion hiding this place could disappear, and showing off my power stupidly would just be proof that my IQ is in the double digits.
What is certain is that I have become incredibly strong.
It was so big and deep that I doubted it would hit bottom even if I fought without resting for days.
For now, it's difficult to grow my Dantian further with my current internal energy cultivation method and martial arts.
In the first place, the Fire Artisan's martial arts couldn't go beyond the scope of self-defense.
I have to become stronger through training using the new martial arts and internal energy cultivation method I obtained through the third fated encounter.
Honestly, I'm a bit excited.
I'm this strong even now, so how much stronger will I be if I learn higher-level martial arts than now?
Good, the tea leaves have dried well while I was fainted.
Unlike regular tea, Shennong's Tea Leaves shouldn't be enjoyed every hour, but used occasionally in special situations like a medicinal herb, so one basket is enough.
I put the dried tea leaves into a wooden container for storage and kept them well in my bag.
And just in case, I took out the clothes I bought as a spare, and class-changed from a primitive man to a civilized man.
Originally, I prepared them because clothes tear easily when Murim people fight, but I didn't know I would use them like this.
It's quite late, but since I fainted for a long time and gained more powerful strength than before, my body wants to move, so I decided to leave to find the third fated encounter from now on.
The third fated encounter is the warehouse of a thief called the Shadowless Divine Thief, who stole from the Imperial Palace treasury by taking advantage of the chaotic period when the Yuan Dynasty fell and the Ming Dynasty was established.
If you look at Wuxia novels, there's always a phantom thief character with this kind of title.
For your information, I'll tell you in advance that the fourth fated encounter is also a warehouse with the Shadowless Divine Thief's property.
And it's the largest and most luxurious among the many warehouses.
Why didn't he just gather them in one place, instead of annoyingly making multiple warehouses?
Unlike the thief bitch in the face-blind world, this thief didn't seem to have a collaborator who laundered money under the guise of a nun.
Or maybe there are treasures that are hard to launder carelessly.
Anyway, the Shadowless Divine Thief stole from the Imperial Palace treasury and hid it in a mountain near Gyeyang.
Coincidentally, Gyeyang is located in Hunan where I am, but its location is almost at the edge, to the point where it's slightly touching Guangdong located below Hunan.
The biggest problem is that there is no map.
First, I have to stop by a nearby city and see if there is a civilian map.
Unlike military maps, civilian maps will barely be enough to confirm the location of cities, but for now, I'll be grateful for just that.
Having made such a plan, I started to descend the mountain immediately.
Because I can no longer overcome the desire to have strong martial arts worthy of this internal energy.
Hebei, a forest near the Hebei Paeng Clan.
"I... I'm sorry! Please forgive... Argh!"
The man, with a face that looked like he had killed dozens of people, desperately begged for his life with a servile expression toward the woman with a small build and revealing clothes.
However, as the woman's arm swung quickly, the man, unable to avoid it, collapsed while spitting blood as his neck split open.
"Gurgle... Gurgle...!"
"Did I give a difficult order? Create a big commotion to lure the enemy, and if the enemy doesn't fall for the lure, retreat and inform our allies. Is that so difficult? Why are you acting out more than necessary and getting our cult members sacrificed?"
"Gurgle... Gurgle...!"
"Go to the afterlife and apologize to the dead cult members."
Crack!
The woman stomped on the man's neck with her foot, crushing his neck bone and killing him instantly.
"You."
"Y-yes, yes!"
"Report that the mission failed."
"B-but..."
Since they had brought highly credible information that the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword was in the Hebei Paeng Clan's warehouse, which they had failed to raid this time, this mission should not have failed.
"But what? Do you want to try to succeed in the mission with a mysterious strategy that even I don't know? You want to raid the Hebei Paeng Clan again, who are already defending because the surprise attack failed? If we drag it out, reinforcements will come from other righteous factions, right? If you're confident, shall I give you command right now?"
"A... absolutely not!"
Scared by the woman's tone, which was covered in annoyance, the man immediately ran somewhere.
"Clean up and prepare to retreat."
"Yes!"
At her voice, which was filled with killing intent, many men answered with tense expressions and started moving busily.
"Phew... This is driving me crazy. Hwan-yo-nim was the most comfortable among the Dharma Protectors, but suddenly she became incredibly cruel."
"That's what I'm saying. What on earth happened?"
Their identities were members of the Demonic Cult.
Demonic Cult members were scattered all over the continent, tasked with checking the warehouses of various righteous factions to find the other half of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.
The Demonic Cult members didn't find Hwan-yo, who was generally cheerful and free-spirited, that difficult to deal with, as long as they didn't mention her age.
This was because she was a superior who didn't have much of a problem even if they lived somewhat freely as long as they kept the courtesies well.
However, at some point, she transformed from a cheerful and lewd enchantress into a neurotic and cruel witch.
She became neurotic and easily irritated like a woman always suffering from her period, and she became a byword for fear even among the same Demonic Cult members, cruelly punishing those who failed their missions.
"If my memory is correct, she became like that after the mission at the Jeongmumae Chang'an branch."
"Now that you mention it, that's true. What happened on that mission?"
"I heard that the Sword Empress appeared on that mission."
"Hwan-yo-nim definitely hated the Sword Empress."
"But the Sword Empress is dead now, isn't she?"
"Isn't she so annoyed because she couldn't kill that Sword Empress with her own hands? Because she can never defeat the Sword Empress forever."
"Anyway, I should be careful for a while."
The shocking fact that the Sword Empress had died while exploring a deep mountain herb village at the request of the Yakwangmun spread widely.
The Sword Empress, who entered a cave to confirm the identities of those making Jiangshi, was buried along with the cave as the mountain itself collapsed with a huge explosion.
The Jeongmumae, thinking that there was no way she could have survived even if it was the Sword Empress since the mountain itself collapsed, had to reveal the shocking fact that the Sword Empress died due to the Demonic Cult's evil trap.
They concluded it was the Demonic Cult's doing because they barely managed to find faint evidence left by the Demonic Cult near the village.
Naturally, the Demonic Cult side ignored it, thinking it was a frame-up because there was no reason to conduct such dangerous experiments in the righteous faction's territory, but because of that, the hatred of the Murim people toward the Demonic Cult grew even greater.
Hwan-yo, who was already stressed out because she had to be forcibly separated from Jin Cheon, heard the news that the Sword Empress, who had vowed to take revenge herself, died in a trap, and she became more neurotic than before.
Meanwhile, Hwan-yo Im Ha-yeon, who was left alone after giving orders to her subordinates, sat on a rock that was comfortable to sit on and was looking up at the sky as if drawing something.
'Jin-rang...'
Nothing tastes good no matter what she eats.
Nothing is fun no matter what she does.
It was so hard that she hugged another man in a desperate state of self-abandonment, but it was not even a speck of the pleasure Jin Cheon gave her, so the emptiness only grew greater.
She still longs to feel the warmth of Jin Cheon, who used to hold her, when she wakes up from sleep.
The time she spent sharing her body with Jin Cheon for a short while was so happy that, as a reaction, her current life felt like she was living because she couldn't die.
She hates the Demonic Cult, which she used to think, 'It's frustrating, but it's still my hometown.'
She wants to destroy the Demonic Cult itself, which separated her and Jin Cheon.
In this situation, the only thing she has hope for is that Jin Cheon's talent is unrivaled.
'With your talent, you will soon become famous in Murim. I will wait patiently until you make a name for yourself.'
Looking at her, who misses and looks only at one man, who would think she is the evil witch of the Demonic Cult, Hwan-yo Im Ha-yeon?
'Jin-rang, please make it so I can find you quickly.'
Im Ha-yeon, who was hoping for memories with Jin Cheon like that, got up from the rock at the report of her subordinates that they had finished preparing to retreat, and retreated after erasing the traces so that the Hebei Paeng Clan's pursuit team could not follow.
As the incident where numerous righteous factions were attacked by the Demonic Cult continued, and traces of those presumed to be the Demonic Cult making Jiangshi were discovered, an atmosphere hostile to the Demonic Cult became prevalent in the righteous faction, and an unusual flow began to circulate in the Central Plains.
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