Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Resolution (3)
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"Th-th-that brat."
Pae-seon clicked his tongue and pointed, but Mu-heun paid him no mind. A moment later, the two of them and the Elders rushed to where the villagers were gathered.
Mu-heun expressed his gratitude to the first-generation disciples of Kunlun.
"Thank you for gathering the villagers."
"We only did what was necessary. However, some are in critical condition. Please hurry with the treatment."
"Yes, I will. Please help me by bringing the patients here."
"Yes."
Mu-heun immediately released the Myriad Fragrance and deployed the Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation to treat the villagers. He also began to refine and rearrange the herbs made of incense.
He then asked the first-generation disciples to assist with treating the villagers, and requested that Dang So-so and Seol Ha-ryeong stand guard over the village.
He asked the other Elders and Pae-seon to investigate a nearby temple called Chipyeong Temple.
"If you encounter an enemy you cannot handle, do not engage. Come find me immediately."
"Understood."
Having witnessed Mu-heun's martial prowess firsthand, the Elders mostly agreed with his words.
The truly fortunate thing was that after the monster's death, the life activity of the Needle-Gold parasites that had been raging inside the villagers and teenagers had completely ceased.
Normally, removing these parasites, which had already spread branches throughout the villagers' blood vessels and between their organs, was nearly impossible. However, Mu-heun had already devised a way to deal with them.
"First, please bring me the children in the most critical condition."
"Yes."
Mu-heun checked the children's pulses, then channeled his Heavenly Demonic Energy, causing a violet flame to erupt from the needle in his hand.
*Fwoosh*
He then located the core of the parasite and pierced it with the needle.
Next, the fire energy from his Heavenly Demonic Energy began to travel through the children's blood vessels, meticulously incinerating the parasite's branches.
This violet flame, which burned the parasite's interior and vanished in an instant, eradicated the creatures while causing minimal harm to the children.
Such a treatment method had never existed in the world. It was a technique bordering on the divine—a cure that no martial artist, no physician, could ever hope to replicate.
Mu-heun carefully examined and treated the children one by one, soon coming to a delicate-looking boy with a mole under his eye.
"Little one, your mother is very worried about you."
It was Ha-pyeong, Gaseol's son. Mu-heun took his hand and spoke.
"Don't worry now. I will heal you. You'll be able to see your mother soon."
*Fwoosh*
Mu-heun focused all his concentration on treating the children, and thanks to the power of the Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation, even their remaining wounds began to heal.
Mu-heun said to the first-generation disciples of Kunlun.
"The treatment is almost complete, but they haven't fully recovered yet. Please gather them in one place and lay them down as well."
"Yes!"
Fortunately, the first-generation disciples of Kunlun understood the situation and moved with perfect coordination.
Mu-heun then began treating the other villagers.
The mental energy he expended with each person he treated was immense. A single mistake could mean death for a villager, or at the very least, a lifelong disability. He was more cautious than ever.
Yet, Mu-heun continued the treatment without hesitation.
"This woman is..."
Finally, one of the first-generation disciples brought Gaseol to him.
She was unconscious, and her physical state was appalling. She must have clawed at the ground or walls relentlessly; her fingernails were all broken and shattered, and the skin on her fingertips was ground away, bleeding profusely.
Mu-heun could vividly recall how she had screamed in despair when she regained consciousness. She must have remembered everything.
"Their psychological trauma must be unimaginable..."
Healing was not just about mending the body. Mu-heun resolved to apply a balm to their mental anguish as well.
Steeling himself, Mu-heun treated Gaseol.
*Fwoosh*
The treatment was over in an instant. Mu-heun spoke to the reclining Gaseol.
"Do not worry. Your son is still alive. In a little while, he'll be healthy enough to run and play. I will let you see him soon... For now, please rest and recover."
Just then.
*Grasp.*
Gaseol grabbed Mu-heun's hand.
"My... son is alive?"
"...!?"
Mu-heun clasped her hand with both of his and said.
"That's right. You will be able to see him soon."
Not yet fully recovered, Gaseol stammered.
"Young man... no, Doctor, you did it..."
"So you knew."
"I... I couldn't... speak."
"Focus on your recovery."
Gaseol said through her tears.
"Th-th-thank you."
With those words, she fell asleep again.
The sun rose to its zenith, but Mu-heun was still continuously treating the villagers.
Roughly eight hours passed, and he finally finished treating all the villagers.
* * *
Meanwhile, Pae-seon and the Elders had scoured the area and found Chipyeong Temple.
"Senior Brother, this is..."
an Elder said to Pae-seon as they looked at what they presumed to be the temple. Pae-seon's expression hardened as well.
"Yes..."
The reason for their grim expressions was that the Chipyeong Temple they found had been completely demolished, its original form unrecognizable.
"Still, let's investigate."
"Yes."
Pae-seon and the Elders began their investigation, sifting through the miserably shattered remains of Chipyeong Temple.
As Pae-seon rummaged through the debris, he recalled a story Baek Jung-hyeok had told him when he was still alive.
-*Chipyeong Temple is a temple of the Arhats. It was once a place of brilliant glory, but it began to decline rapidly after the Arhats suddenly vanished some fifty years ago.*
No matter how rapid its decline, to be this severely damaged...
Most of the temple's pillars were broken, and a few had fallen to the ground, reduced to near dust. Trees and plants grew wild in the cracks of the remaining pillars.
It felt as if the temple was being buried alongside nature.
The outer walls were covered in moss and vines, with cracks appearing everywhere, hinting at a beauty that might have once existed.
Just then, an Elder shouted as if he had found something.
"Senior Brother! There's an underground chamber here. This part is relatively intact. Let's go inside."
Pae-seon and the other Elders hurried toward the remaining underground cave. The interior of the chamber was dark and gloomy.
Upon closer inspection, a familiar scent wafted through the air.
It was clearly a place where sacred rituals were once performed. Now, it was filled with dust and debris, with only the traces of a Buddha statue that had once rested there remaining.
The floor was cluttered with fallen stones and wood fragments, and water leaking from the ceiling was making the interior even more desolate.
"This place will collapse soon too."
In one corner of the temple, old statues of Buddha and Arhats remained, but they too were worn and corroded, their features blurred.
Nevertheless, they could understand why Mu-heun had asked them to investigate this place.
The heads of all the Buddha and Arhat statues had been severed. As if someone had vented their anger, the fallen heads were smashed to pieces.
And on the wall behind them, unknown characters were engraved... then something strange happened.
As they looked closer at the completely unintelligible script, the characters began to shift on their own, transforming into a readable text!
The wall read:
[ Annihilation of Wisdom
Even praise offered with proper courtesy would be insufficient, yet how can humans be so arrogant?
There will be no good future for them.
Who allowed these insignificant creatures to live?
There is a god who shows the righteous path.
One can only follow.
To those who do not follow,
one can only teach the proper laws.
Yet even when taught the laws, they do not stand upright.
How can this be?
The utterly foolish have survived by sheer luck.
If they are not corrected, there is only death.
Annihilating them is the only way to show loyalty to Those Above. ]
"S-Senior Brother! What is this...!"
"I don't know. But it is clearly a very ominous sign."
"Considering the monsters from before, the situation looks grave."
"We may not know, but Baek Mu-heun might know something."
"Y-you think so?"
"More importantly, depending on the scale of this matter, our visit to the Martial Alliance might not be primarily to observe the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly."
"...!?"
Pae-seon and the Elders searched other areas starting from the underground chamber, but finding nothing else, they prepared to return.
Pae-seon looked back at the ruined Chipyeong Temple and had a bitter thought.
*'A temple that should be standing silently with history. How could it have been desecrated like this.'*
* * *
Before long, the sun that had illuminated Okhwa County and the Yangtze River set, and moonlight draped the land. The second-generation disciples of Kunlun, who were participating in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, arrived soon after.
As a result of working tirelessly to treat the villagers, Mu-heun had managed to remove all the Needle-Gold parasites that had infested them.
Furthermore, since the treatment began, not a single person had died.
However.
It was not over yet.
Those with milder symptoms regained consciousness faster, but as soon as they did, they began to scream and writhe in agony.
Some even attempted to take their own lives, and each time, the first and second-generation disciples of Kunlun stepped in to subdue them by striking their pressure points.
First, they struck the paralyzing points to immobilize them, then the sleep-inducing points to put them back to sleep.
Mu-heun could fully understand the hearts of the villagers who tried to kill themselves. Having lost their children, their beloveds—how could one measure their sorrow?
On top of that, they had completely forgotten their dead loved ones and had revered Paeng-hu, the true culprit, as a physician sent from the heavens. The mental anguish must be immense...
That was why Mu-heun felt he had to perform one final treatment. He decided to use a spoil from his fight with the monsters: the dream formation that Maek had used.
"Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation. Modified."
He immediately began to activate the Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation over the area where the villagers were gathered.
Then, using the Myriad Fragrance, he spread Dragon's Blood, Motherwort, and St. John's Wort throughout the area.
Plants that healed wounds and brought peace to the mind.
Plants that calmed boiling rage and treated inflammation flowing through the blood. A fragrance that comforted wounded hearts rose from the very ground.
It flowed into the villagers' noses, entered through their mouths, eyes, and ears, and was absorbed through their skin.
As it did, the expressions of the villagers—who were asleep from having their pressure points struck but still suffering as if in a nightmare—began to soften.
The fragrance soon reached their hearts and began to soothe their wounds. It embraced the pain of losing loved ones and whispered to them. It was time to let them go.
"Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation, Modified: Daydream."
As a final step, Mu-heun added illusion herbs to the formation, inviting everyone into a world of unattainable dreams.