Chapter 154
Translator: uly
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Calluses on Body and Mind
Calluses don't just form on the body. They form on the mind, too.
Pushing open the stone door at the end of the stairs, they were greeted by the glow of night-luminescent jewels. The underground tomb was far more spacious than expected. It felt like stepping into the parlor of a grand mansion. Lining the edges of the plaza stood statues of the Twelve Zodiac Guardians, while at the center loomed a massive stone incense burner. The ceiling was embedded with night-luminescent jewels twinkling like stars.
"Our home is way smaller than this."
Yo Pung muttered softly.
Hwaye had lived in abject poverty, and the one responsible for that misery occupied such a lavish place even in death. It twisted her insides.
"It's a gift from the king to the subordinate who protected his life. Couldn't make it too shabby, I suppose."
"True... but I still hate it."
"You'll make it big someday, too."
"Do you have a home?"
"Me?"
"Yeah."
"As if."
"Ever thought about buying one?"
"Nope."
"Poor thing. Lower your head a bit."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Ak Muyoo bent forward in front of Yo Pung.
"So I can comfort you like this."
Yo Pung ruffled his hair wildly.
"You're ridiculous."
The two crossed the plaza.
At the far end stood a door leading deeper inside. They fiddled with it, then pushed to the left. The stone door slid open slowly. The passage beyond was lined with night-luminescent jewels in neat rows.
"Those jewels look better than this one."
Ak Muyoo pointed at the one he had.
"They do seem nicer."
"Grab some."
"How many?"
"Two."
"Got it."
Yo Pung kicked off the floor lightly. She plucked one jewel and came back down. It was only half the size of his fist but emitted a far cleaner, brighter light than the one Ak Muyoo carried. She handed him one, then fetched another. Ak Muyoo tossed his old one and pocketed the new jewel.
They continued down the passage.
Soon, another stone door appeared. The two opened it and stepped inside.
The space beyond was modest, about one-and-a-half zhang in both length and width. At its center sat a single corpse in lotus position atop a dais shaped like a lotus flower.
"That must be Yo Hwan."
Ak Muyoo said quietly.
"Looks like it."
Yo Pung nodded.
She approached the body and bowed deeply.
As she rose from the bow, she noticed writing carved into the floor.
[Touch]
"This means 'touch,' right?"
Yo Pung pointed at the character.
"That's what I think."
Yo Pung looked at Yo Hwan. Her hands rested palms-up on her knees.
Yo Pung approached on her knees.
She stared intently at Yo Hwan, then brought her own palms together.
Zzzzing!
In that instant, Yo Pung felt something flowing from Yo Hwan's palms into her.
'What is this?'
She quickly realized the nature of the energy entering her body. It was none other than Yo Hwan's internal energy. The influx was immense. But it wasn't just internal energy. Something else came with it.
Fwoosh!
Yo Hwan's body soon crumbled into powder.
Yo Pung stared blankly ahead.
"Put the powder in that jar and place it in the coffin over there."
Ak Muyoo pointed to a stone coffin nearby.
"Should I?"
Using void grasp, Yo Pung lifted the powder into a small jar. As if anticipating her own dissolution, Yo Hwan had placed it beside her. Yo Pung filled the jar completely and carried it to the coffin.
Ak Muyoo opened it.
Grind!
"Quite thorough."
Ak Muyoo smiled faintly. It wasn't empty. The coffin brimmed with stone tablets, parchment-bound books, and assorted items. Ak Muyoo pulled out one parchment book.
[Art of Shifting Form and Phantom Body]
"Martial arts manual."
"Pull it all out for now."
"Alright."
Ak Muyoo emptied the contents. He placed the urn in the now-empty coffin and sealed the lid.
"This must be what she left behind."
Yo Pung examined the stone tablets and picked one up. The two read it together.
[Left by Yo Hwan.
Whoever reads this will be my descendant.
First, I apologize to you. But I could never forgive his betrayal. The one who ordered me to assassinate Seong Gil Sa Han was Yi Hyun.]
"Who's Yi Hyun?"
Ak Muyoo asked.
"The last king of the Western Xia Kingdom."
[I opposed it. Even if successful, we couldn't escape Mongol retribution. But Yi Hyun was stubborn. A vassal must not defy his lord's command. That's how I was taught, how I lived. Moreover, he was my lover.
I seduced Seong Gil Sa Han and implanted the Phantom Sleep in his heart. The assassination succeeded, but we paid with annihilation.
And our clan, the White Wolf Celestial Clan...]
The writing grew crooked, carved deeper, as if emotion surged.
[Yi Hyun claimed the assassination was my solo act, pinning all blame on me and my clan. He then captured our White Wolf Celestial warriors and handed them to the Mongols. Ten thousand warriors from our clan were boiled alive in cauldrons.
Our White Wolf Celestial Clan were founding heroes of the Western Xia Kingdom. We aided Jo Won Ho in establishing the kingdom and elevated it to rival Central Plains states.
We even secured tribute from the Song Dynasty. Yet Yi Hyun betrayed us.
My lover did.
I could not forgive him.
Just as with Seong Gil Sa Han, I drove Phantom Sleep into his heart.]
"My God!"
Yo Pung's mouth fell open.
She had never imagined such history between her clan and the Western Xia royal family.
[After eliminating him, I watched the kingdom fall. I never regretted removing Yi Hyun. One who sacrifices his lover and vassal to the enemy for personal gain deserves ruin. No, such a nation must not prosper. With Western Xia's fall, I entered my tomb.
My descendant, I leave everything to you.
When you grasped my hand, my internal energy and Phantom Sleep transferred to you. Learn the Phantom Sleep now.
Please, do not repeat my mistakes. Live for yourself.]
Yo Hwan's last words ended there.
"I'm sorry. I misunderstood you."
Yo Pung said softly to the coffin. Yo Hwan was merely a pitiful woman who gave everything for her lover and lord, only to be betrayed.
Yo Pung rummaged through the parchment manuals and pulled out the one on Phantom Sleep.
"While I read this, you check the others."
"Got it."
Ak Muyoo sifted through the stone tablets.
He found an ancient bamboo slip, weathered with age. Bamboo slips were books made from slats used in antiquity before paper. But closer inspection revealed it was not bamboo—it mimicked the shape but was metal. An iron slip. Thin as paper, a chi long and one-and-a-half cun wide.
A chill emanated from it.
"It's the same type as Millennium Cold Iron."
It seemed the metal used to forge the Divine Sword Shin Do. Ancient script adorned its face. Seeing it stirred childhood memories.
—Why must I learn this?
—Your path lies not in the present, but in antiquity.
His grandmaster's words.
The script was in that ancient tongue he had learned.
"Chaos Force?"
He tilted his head.
Turning the slip revealed Yo Hwan's annotations.
[The Chaos Force is an ancient secret art.
Thousands of years ago, before internal energy was conceptualized, warriors wielded martial arts solely through physical might. They unleashed sword beams and cleaved rocks and iron with bodily power. That power was called Chaos Force, or by some, Great Strength Qi.]
'Heh.'
Ak Muyoo chuckled inwardly.
He never thought he'd hear "Great Strength Qi" again.
[This manual details how to cultivate and wield Chaos Force. If you don't know the ancient tongue, no need to read further.]
"I must read it."
Ak Muyoo turned the slip.
[The Chaos Force is the world's mightiest energy.
Yet none wield it properly. Obtaining it is too difficult.
The first step to Chaos Force is Bone Marrow Replanting. And it must be done before age three.
The second step is...]
"My God."
Ak Muyoo stared blankly at the iron slip.
Its contents chronicled the path he had walked these past thirty-two years.
'I didn't understand Grandmaster's words—that my path lay in antiquity, not the present. But reading this, I finally grasp it. This is it.
All my struggles over thirty years were to attain Chaos Force. I simply didn't know how to use it.
Mad Thousand Blood Steps was one way to harness it, but imperfect.
Yet the method was inscribed here.
'Life-Death Bind is a similar art.'
He moved his hand. Phantom shadows lingered in the air. Life-Death Bind was one technique potent without internal energy—because its hand motions generated Chaos Force.
Ak Muyoo focused on the slip again.
[The head is Earth (土). Left arm Fire (火), right arm Water (水). Right leg Metal (金), left leg Earth (土). They form the endless cycle of Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-Water-Wood. Qi flows: Wood-Earth-Water, Fire-Metal-Wood, Metal-Wood-Earth, endlessly. The five energies clash and mutually generate, forging a vast current—that is Chaos Force.]
Ak Muyoo compared the flow to Mad Thousand Blood Steps. It matched about sixty percent.
He read on.
Later slips depicted body movements for generating Chaos Force in illustrations.
Thud!
He set down a slip.
Rising, he glanced at Yo Pung.
She sat immersed in the manual, eyes closed in thought. Watching her quietly, he headed to the plaza.
"Hoo!"
Standing in place, he caught his breath.
"Wood-Earth-Water, Fire-Metal-Wood, Metal-Wood-Earth..."
Visualizing the qi flow, he moved his legs and feet. Arms and legs followed Mad Thousand Blood Steps patterns. No sensation yet, but he persisted, cycling limbs methodically. Heat built in his body, clothes growing cumbersome. He shed his robe and shirt, resuming bare-chested.
'It mustn't break. It must flow naturally. Once arisen, Chaos Force carries its own vitality and moves itself.'
Sweat began dripping from his body.
In timeless dark—night or day unknown—Ak Muyoo moved ceaselessly. Sweat gleamed on his torso. Time flowed relentlessly.
"It's coming!"
Ak Muyoo cried out unwittingly.
This was different. He couldn't yet pinpoint what, but something stirred within his body. No—precisely, his head, arms, and legs.
It felt like subjugation to some force.
As if head, arms, and legs connected. The bond strengthened over time.
Soon, power seemed to infuse each acupoint in arms and legs.
'Can I unleash it?'
Ak Muyoo murmured inwardly.
The force filling his muscles and meridians differed from what Mad Thousand Blood Steps expended.
A wholly new energy.
'Fill it more.'
He kept moving arms and legs.
It felt like water accumulating in a tank.
Suddenly, he sensed he could erupt it.
'What if I fail?'
Ak Muyoo hesitated.
'Doesn't matter. I've failed tens of thousands of times. Days of checking, despairing, checking again, despairing. One more failure atop tens of thousands. Just one more.'
It concerned his dantian.
He had checked endlessly for its existence, only to despair.
Calluses didn't just form on the body.
They formed on the mind.
'Do it.'
Clang!
The Demon Hook of his right hand shot forth.