Chapter 20
I slowly steadied my breathing.
All right. Let’s begin.
Crack.
As expected, the Mahwandan was nothing like the elixirs I had taken in my past life. Those had melted the moment they touched my tongue, but this one was hard and uneven, forcing me to bite down and break it apart.
Crunch.
At last, its rigid shell shattered, and a thick liquid spilled out. A fresh fragrance flooded my mouth.
As the spirit energy slid down my throat, dissolved into my stomach, and seeped through my entire body, the rising heat turned fierce. I recited the verses of Muryeong Shingong and slipped into circulation.
Again and again, I guided the energy and settled it into my dantian.
BOOM!!
Out of nowhere, a sound like a volcano erupting tore through my body.
W-What the hell?!
The energies I had directed into my dantian surged up through my meridians and exploded in shockwaves. Along with the deafening roar, a searing pain rose as if it might burn not only my internal organs but even my hair to ash in an instant.
No. No, it can’t.
That one thing absolutely could not happen. I hurriedly gathered my mind and resumed circulation.
WOOOOOOOM!
I strained with all my might not to lose the yang energy bursting forth like erupting lava. The energy that had shot up along my spine and surged to the crown of my head was hastily forced back into my dantian.
Just as the violent momentum began to subside, and I thought the scorching pain would finally fade too—
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!
Another volcanic blast sounded from inside my body.
F-Fucking hell…!
The denser, fiercer energies slammed wildly into every nook and cranny of my minor meridians, scattering outward.
The elixir’s power kept surging without any sense of restraint, and the blazing heat burned with such fury that it seemed ready to incinerate every limb and bone in my body.
My dantian had somehow turned into a crater.
It felt less like I’d swallowed an elixir and more like I’d inhaled poison. Had some insane mutt of a bastard poisoned me on purpose?
Grrrrrrrrk!
I clenched my teeth so hard my gums hurt and kept forcing my qi through the circuit. I repeated the process of gathering the sparks scattered throughout my acupuncture points and moving them back into my dantian over and over until—
Just when it seemed as if the crater might finally quiet down—
BOOM!
Another explosion thundered, as though to mock my hope.
D-Damn it!!
Because the guidance had been delayed, the spirit energies that had been waiting their turn erupted in protest.
It was as if they had picked a fight, or run into a sworn enemy, and the brawl that followed left me to bear every ounce of the backlash.
Snap! Snap!
I could hear the tiny vessels inside me bursting one after another. Something warm and wet surged up from my nose and mouth. Without needing to look, I knew it was blood.
Th-this is a demonic cult elixir?
What the hell was this thing?
Aaaaargh!!
In the agony of a body that felt as if it were about to split apart, I barely managed to hold onto the part of my consciousness that was trying to flee first, and I kept murmuring the verses of Muryeong Shingong. I forced myself to remember my resolve to stop the great disaster, and sent the energy circulating through my body.
Dantian, anus, Baihui acupoint. Dantian, anus, Baihui acupoint. Dantian…!
My mind was growing hazy, so I reduced everything to those three things and repeated them over and over.
The pain was horrific, but the result was undeniable. The wild yang energy was coursing through my body, remaking my meridians and bones while burning away even the turbid impurities.
In other words, this was both the worst crisis and the greatest opportunity.
I’ve got to use this chance to rebuild even my heart meridians.
That was why I had refused the Left Guardian of Light’s help.
No expert in the world could know my body better than I did. He had no way of truly knowing which parts were lacking or which channels of blood and qi were a mess.
I had refused because there was always the chance that precious energy would be wasted on the wrong place, or lost through unnecessary interference.
I kept repeating the circulation, burning away every trace of turbid energy in the meridians, down to the last corner. Meticulously. Without the slightest deviation.
But then—
BOOOOM! BOOOOM!!
Enough, enough already, you fucking thing!
No matter how positively I tried to think about it, those precious energies showed no sign of calming down. They kept escaping into the meridians, losing all sense of direction, and rampaging recklessly through my body.
Crack!
I heard the sound of blood vessels tearing in the violent collision. One uneasy snapping sound after another multiplied, and I finally realized I was nearing my limit.
It was as if heat were surging all the way to the crown of my head.
Fine. All right. Let’s see who wins.
At this point, there was no turning back. With the determination to see it through to the end, I started kicking those rampaging energies around in accordance with their own temper.
Bang! Crash! Bang!!
I didn’t care about the pain rising from my acupuncture points. This was happening in my body, but I decided it had nothing to do with me.
Telling myself it would all pass soon enough, I jammed the energies back into my dantian.
Wooooom!
Whether because it was actually working or because I was only fooling myself, the searing pain did seem to lessen. I couldn’t tell if it was real or not, but I decided to believe it was.
Because only by believing can anything be accomplished.
Hissss.
Once the rampage of yang energy finally quieted, I immediately began repairing the blood vessels. Repair was the nice word for it; in truth, it was more like scorching the wounds together with fire.
Grrrrrkkk…!
Only after enduring that instant stretched across what felt like an eternity did I judge that I had rejoined not only the torn meridians but even the heart meridians near my chest.
Flash!
I hurriedly emerged from the trance of circulation.
“Hah… haah!”
I heaved rough breaths, my shoulders rising and falling violently as I spit out the heat in my lungs. Judging by the sun’s height, quite a bit of time had passed.
“Damn, I thought I was going to die…”
Just as I was shaking my head to clear it and steadying my breathing, my mind suddenly snapped into sharp focus, as though I had been bathed in light.
Had all that pain been an illusion?
A cool, refreshing radiance seemed to seep through my entire body.
……!!
The world’s full spectrum of colors, which I had never sensed before, now came vividly alive. It was as if the fog that had obstructed my vision had been lifted, and the armor constricting my body had been stripped away.
My senses had sharpened, my perception had grown clearer, and I could now recognize the world with far greater precision.
Thud. Thud.
Thanks to the severed heart meridians being rejoined, the flow of qi had also grown far more powerful.
Oh!
Was there anything more exhilarating for a martial artist than the achievement of martial transcendence?
Thrilling all over at the indescribable rush, I immediately raised my energy. The Muryeonggi, now swollen far beyond what it had been before, raced fiercely through my strengthened meridians, and heat surged up from every limb and bone.
Fsssh.
It was truly a beneficial heat. The Muryeonggi burned away the blood still lingering in my body, giving rise to wisps of red haze.
The wall of the dantian still remained, but I had undeniably made a great leap forward.
Snap. Tap!
With a sound like a dam bursting, the Muryeonggi gathered above the center of my palm.
So that was it.
The secret manual of Muryeong Shingong had said that one would understand on one’s own upon reaching the realm, without offering any further explanation.
Only now did I understand what it meant.
Whoosh!
The Muryeonggi took on a tangible form and flickered as pure white flame.
Sammae Jinhwa, the fire that would one day burn heaven and earth. I had finally reached the realm of Ilbaek.
This is… fascinating.
As I watched the white flame dancing while scorching the bandages, I studied it intently.
No matter how excellent the Mahwandan’s effect was, I should not have reached the point where I could already wield Sammae Jinhwa. That was a technique only masters with truly profound internal energy could use.
Is this a trait of Muryeong Shingong?
Because it was a martial art specialized in the purest yang energy, it seemed only natural that producing flame would be easier as well. With the manual being so unhelpful, I would have to figure things out one step at a time like this.
Hmm.
One thing still bothered me: I had yet to solve one lingering mystery.
The reason I could use a Buddhist martial art. Despite the familiar sensation I felt when moving through the acupuncture points and the distinct power it gave me, there were still too many ambiguous parts for me to give a clear answer.
Am I still not there yet?
Just then—
“Third Young Master.”
Turning my head, I saw Gwangmyeong Jwasa approaching with a stiff expression. He looked more startled than angry.
“Mm. That took quite a while. Speak.”
“That Sammae Jinhwa… could it be that you have completely absorbed the Mahwandan?”
After checking my condition, I answered, “There’s still some energy clinging to the minor meridians, but I absorbed all the spirit energy. It was such precious power that I worked hard not to waste a single drop.”
“……”
Gwangmyeong Jwasa narrowed his eyes and grabbed the wooden box that had held the Mahwandan. Strangely enough, the herbs that had once looked fresh and green were now bleached white.
“These herbs here. What do you think they were placed in for?”
I thought for a moment, then said, “To temper the yang energy of the Mahwandan? Was that patch of herbs the minimum preparation you mentioned earlier?”
Gwangmyeong Jwasa nodded.
“They’re an herb called Godokcho. They’re excellent for suppressing energy. Right now they’ve exhausted their effect and returned to their natural color.”
“……”
“From the beginning, the Mahwandan was never the kind of elixir that could be fully absorbed. If one gets reckless, it’s easy to burn oneself to ashes.”
I could see that.
Even for me, someone quite skilled at handling internal energy, controlling the Mahwandan’s spirit energy had been a struggle. So how much worse would it have been for anyone else?
If I had let my guard down for even an instant, my hair, let alone my dantian, would have gone up in flames.
That would have been bad. Very bad.
Gwangmyeong Jwasa looked at my clothes, now stained with blood and sweat and turned a sickly yellow.
“If you had taken the Godokcho to suppress the yang energy and accepted the protection of the guardians, you wouldn’t have had to endure that much pain. Why did you insist on taking it alone?”
I paused briefly before answering.
“Because I didn’t really need to. Suppressing the energy means weakening the effect, doesn’t it?”
“……”
“The same goes for outside help. There was always the chance that precious energy would be lost, or that some unnecessary variable would appear. Either way, I wasn’t fond of it.”
Gwangmyeong Jwasa’s brow faintly tightened. He stared at me for a long moment, as if trying to judge my true intent, then let out a low chuckle.
“Kheh-heh. You always go beyond expectation. It’s a welcome change, but… you do seem a little too different. It’s almost like you’ve been possessed by a ghost.”
I swallowed a dry breath and replied, “Ha. I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but if you almost died and came back, you ought to change a little, don’t you think? Anyway, thank you for staying here. Thanks to you, I was able to focus completely.”
Gwangmyeong Jwasa looked over the estate’s scenery before speaking in a low voice.
“You’ve shown enough usefulness, so I’ll forgive today’s recklessness. I’ll be taking my leave.”
Since he had stayed for such a long time, this was clearly an act of goodwill on his part, so I treated him with proper respect.
“Thank you, Jwasa. It feels like I’ve received an unexpected gift. If you don’t mind, I’d like to treat you to a meal. What do you say?”
“Consider it part of the Cult Leader’s order. Don’t trouble yourself.”
As if that was all there was to it, Gwangmyeong Jwasa silently turned and walked out of the estate.
I followed him out to see him off.
“Then take care on your way. You’ve worked hard.”
I watched his retreating back for a while, then hurried toward the stream, driven off by a stench that reminded me of hell itself.
Heh heh heh. I really am different now.
Unexpectedly, I had obtained an elixir that ranked among the finest in all the world, and I had even completed its assimilation without incident.
Was this the light my past life had been saving for now?
Compared to all the merit I had accumulated so far, it was still far from enough, but it was undoubtedly an achievement.
A smile rose unbidden as the fresh wind brushed against my skin.