Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: The Dog of the Tang Clan
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The Heavenly Fragrance Owl.
An owl was never a creature that primarily possessed yang energy. During the day, it mostly slept on shaded tree branches, and when night fell, it became a predator of the sky.
The owls that inhabited the Heavenly Mountains were renowned for their potent yin energy. Among them, the most exceptional spirit beast was the Heavenly Fragrance Owl.
A being capable of manipulating a thousand fragrances and communicating with humans through ultrasound. It was an astonishing spirit beast in its own right, but…
‘After sensing the yin energy, I realized this creature had another potential.’
“Here, eat this.”
Mu-heun was trying to awaken Cheon-hyang’s other potential.
[What is this? I have lived a long time, but I have never seen such a thing.]
“It’s called Kunlun Snow Ginseng. It may be unfamiliar to you, having only lived in the Heavenly Mountains, but it should suit you well.”
[Kyaaaa! You’re right! I thought it would suit me well too! I saw Seol Ha-ryeong holding it, and I wanted to eat it so badly! Can I really eat it?!]
“Of course. Eat.”
[Chung!]
Cheon-hyang snatched the Kunlun Snow Ginseng from Mu-heun’s hand and began to devour it. At first, it nibbled at the head, the very top of the ginseng, but after a while, it began to ravenously consume even the roots.
Instantly, the powerful cold energy of the Kunlun Snow Ginseng was drawn into Cheon-hyang.
[Oh—this is strange! It feels like a stronger yin energy is being added to the energy I already possess!]
“Yes, you’re doing well. Absorb that energy. Once you’re finished, I will teach you Yin Arts.”
[Really? Then, can I use things like ice?]
“Of course.”
[Kyaaaaa~ Yes!]
“Focus. Accept the yin energy and circulate it. If a spirit beast like you, full of yin energy, receives a Kunlun Snow Ginseng and learns Yin Arts, you might become stronger than most martial artists.”
At Mu-heun’s words, Cheon-hyang nodded its head vigorously, then closed its eyes and began to absorb the yin energy.
Then, a strange thing happened. It would have been impossible for a mere owl, which couldn't possibly have a dantian. But for this spirit beast, accustomed to handling fragrances and energy, there was something called an ‘Inner Core’ that functioned just like a martial artist’s dantian.
A powerful yin energy began to accumulate within it.
[Kyaaaaaaaa!]
A considerable amount of yin energy settled into Cheon-hyang’s Inner Core.
But that wasn’t all. Cheon-hyang began to apply the method of shaping fragrances it had learned from Mu-heun.
It stored the yin energy in its Inner Core, then began to shape it, step by step.
Like snowflakes falling in winter, which melt in the sun to become water, then drip from the eaves and freeze again into icicles, Cheon-hyang repeated the process of accumulating, melting, and re-freezing the yin energy in its Inner Core, making it harder and more solid.
A blue aura flickered from Cheon-hyang’s body, and a blue light seeped out from its eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
[Kyaaaaaaaa!]
Along with the extreme ultrasound shriek that Cheon-hyang let out, every bowl and piece of pottery in Mu-heun’s room shattered into pieces. Had Mu-heun not surrounded the entire room with his true energy to block the sound, every dish in the inn would have been destroyed.
Following that, a massive wave of cold energy swept through the room, centered on Cheon-hyang. Every bit of moisture in the air had frozen.
Mu-heun couldn’t help but marvel at Cheon-hyang’s transformation.
“Truly beyond my expectations. Remarkable.”
[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]
Mu-heun was genuinely impressed by the tremendous power emanating from the fusion of Cheon-hyang and the Kunlun Snow Ginseng’s energy.
Excited by its newfound strength, Cheon-hyang flew around the room, rampaging and spraying cold energy everywhere.
[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]
Mu-heun watched Cheon-hyang and shook his head, his expression hardening.
‘It’s effective. But it needs to be calmed down.’
Mu-heun unleashed his Heavenly Demonic Energy and began to drive out the cold.
*Fwoooosh*
The violet flames melted away the cold energy Cheon-hyang was emitting as if it were snow.
He melted all the ice and was about to subdue the rampaging owl when the creature, unable to withstand its own cold energy, froze itself solid.
“Sigh.”
Mu-heun let out a short sigh and thawed out Cheon-hyang, which was frozen by its own power.
“It’s still breathing.”
[Kiii… Master, I can’t control my energy.]
“It’s all right. I will thaw you and teach you, so take it slow.”
[Yes…]
And so, based on the information he had heard from Seol Ha-ryeong, Mu-heun created Yin Arts tailored for Cheon-hyang and taught it on the spot.
From that day on, Cheon-hyang’s mastery of Yin Arts rose to a level comparable to that of a supreme master. While the amount of energy it possessed wasn't quite at that level, the combination of its innate yin energy and the cold energy of the Kunlun Snow Ginseng resulted in extreme efficiency.
* * *
After finishing his training (?) with Cheon-hyang, Mu-heun dispelled the true energy he had wrapped around the room to block the noise. He cleaned up the broken bowls and pottery and opened the window.
“Good work. You can go out now. If you’re hungry, go catch some beast to eat. You’re pretty strong now, aren’t you?”
[Kyaaaaa! Of course! I want to go out and test my strength!]
“Alright, but you mustn’t draw too much attention. Try to be as quiet as possible.”
[Yes!]
After sending Cheon-hyang off, Mu-heun went outside to pay for the broken pottery. But suddenly, an inexplicable sense of displeasure brushed past his nose.
“Ahahaha! And that’s how I stomped that bastard from the Demonic Cult into the ground.”
In one corner of the inn, some martial artists were drinking and talking loudly. One of them had a familiar face.
“Oh, so men from the Demonic Cult came all the way to Sichuan?”
“Why else? For trade, of course. The Heavenly Mountains where those bastards are cooped up is a bit barren, isn’t it?”
“Hah…! Weren’t they the kind of guys you just beat down on sight? They know how to trade?”
“Hey, you punk. They’re people too; they need to eat, drink, and sleep. Of course, if they weren’t in their right minds, their heads would be sent flying by the blades of our Orthodox Sects. Mwahahahaha!”
“Oh… so Sir Cheol-bi, you taught them a lesson to change their ways.”
Cheol-bi. The man, whose face Mu-heun also knew well, was known as the dog of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
He was the Sichuan Tang Clan’s cleaner, handling their dirty work, but he also caused just as many incidents and problems. Officially, the Tang Clan acted as if they had no connection to Cheol-bi whatsoever.
“A lesson? What nonsense… As long as they don’t come in groups, they don’t cause any major problems in Sichuan.”
“Then… why…?”
“I just took a liking to one of the lasses in that inn. Beating one of them up is a good way to show off my authority, isn’t it?”
“Ah…! Ahahaha, I see.”
“Got a problem with that? You want a taste of my poisoned hidden weapons too?”
“Poisoned hidden weapons?”
“Yeah. The bastard might remember my face and try to get revenge, you know. I used poisoned hidden weapons so he wouldn’t cause trouble later. He probably died on his way back to the Demonic Cult. Mwahahahahaha!”
“Haha…! You are truly meticulous.”
“You could say that! Mwahahahaha!”
Mu-heun understood the source of the unpleasant feeling that had brushed his nose. During his past life as the Divine Doctor of Sichuan, this mad dog handled the dirty work for the Sichuan Tang Clan.
He was a man with a foul temper, sinister and cunning, and a terrible reputation, but he got the job done cleanly. The Sichuan Tang Clan hired him to take care of troublesome matters.
At the time, Mu-heun had been too busy researching the Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation to know the details, but now he could see that the man handled his work in a rather filthy manner.
‘If I hadn't been captured by the Golden Fang Poison Claw, I might have been killed by that man…’
Mu-heun felt a surge of irritation.
He had left the Heavenly Mountains, passed through Qinghai, and ever since entering Sichuan, he had continuously encountered martial artists from the Orthodox Sects.
However, he had simply passed them by.
He had given everyone in his party, including himself, talismans to conceal their energy, but also, none of them had ever been active in the Central Plains, so no one recognized them.
Being unknown had its advantages.
But seeing Cheol-bi’s face sparked a different thought in Mu-heun’s mind.
A thought of how he could warn the Tang Clan and buy time, disrupt their cooperation with other families, and then carve out the rotten parts of the clan.
Such a plan came to mind.
‘A man who works for the Tang Clan… Right, there must be innocent people among them, but you are not one of them. You who claim to be of the Orthodox Sects persecute and kill members of the Demonic Cult for their origin, even when they’ve done nothing wrong… I see the standards I knew as the Divine Doctor were not the whole story.’
Mu-heun returned to his room and began to change his skeleton and face using the Disguise Arts he had learned from Yeok Mu-gi.
*Crack, creak—*
As his bones shifted and his body grew, his height became abnormally tall, his back hunched over, and his build expanded to become twice as burly as before.
He looked like a bear wearing human skin. On top of that, wrinkles that spoke of age appeared on his face. He was a completely different person from the original Mu-heun. His appearance was now strikingly similar to the Red Demon Pavilion Lord, Hwang Cheol-ung.
‘This should be enough.’
Mu-heun left his room again, and as he stepped into the inn, he spoke in a voice befitting Hwang Cheol-ung.
“Which one of you dog-faced, trash-sucking maggots was it that spoke the name of the Divine Cult?”
“Wha-what did you say?”
Cheol-bi and the man sitting across from him, Ga Se-pyeong, turned to look at Mu-heun. Then, with veins bulging in his neck, Cheol-bi shouted.
“Who dares to speak such words to me, Cheol-bi, who is under the protection of the Tang Clan in this land of Sichuan!”
“I do.”
“Wha-what?”
“Are you bastards deaf?”
Although their words were strong, both Cheol-bi and Ga Se-pyeong couldn't hide their bewilderment. The form Mu-heun had taken resembled Hwang Cheol-ung, but in truth, he looked even more menacing.
To them, Mu-heun spoke in a low, grating voice like scraping metal, as if giving a warning.
“Is it true that you bastards mistreated members of our Divine Cult?”
“You cur! Calling the Demonic Cult the Divine Cult, you must be one of them.”
“And what if I am?”
“Hah…!”
Cheol-bi was dumbfounded. The man certainly looked threatening, but he couldn’t feel any energy from him.
‘Is he so much stronger than me that I can’t sense it? Otherwise, how could he so brazenly pick a fight?’
While exuding an aura as if he would attack at any moment, Cheol-bi maintained a defensive posture. From the moment he realized the man was from the Demonic Cult, he couldn't let his guard down for an instant.
Therefore, he chose to assess the situation and gather information through conversation first.
“Who are you? Why are you picking a fight with me?”
Mu-heun instantly saw through Cheol-bi’s intentions and spoke.
“The little maggot is trying to use his head.”
“What did you say?”
“You’re a funny one. Hey, you moron. Why am I picking a fight? As a member of the Divine Cult, I heard you killed one of our people. What am I supposed to do? Sit by and listen quietly? If it were you, if your brothers were killed, would you tell the killer to eat well and have a safe trip home?”
Cheol-bi focused his energy into both hands and said.
“What gives you the confidence to act like this?”
“Confidence? I trust in my own skills, you idiot. Your death today is your own mouth’s fault. So when you die, don’t blame me. Blame that mouth of yours.”
“You… bastard…”
Cheol-bi raised his internal energy and prepared the poisoned hidden weapons in his sleeves.
‘If I keep talking to this guy, I won’t get any information, I’ll just fall prey to my inner demons. I don’t know his skill level, but I can’t avoid a fight in this situation. And if I can’t avoid it…’