Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Connection in Qingcheng
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Mu-heun placed his left hand on Ha Na-rin's dantian and extended his right hand, placing it above her head. The yin energy from Ha Na-rin's dantian flowed through Mu-heun's hands, forming a large current that began to rotate.
Mu-heun had clearly reached the Harmonious Realm. His demonic energy was denser and more abundant than Ha Na-rin's yin energy. However, he had to dilute it rather than directly injecting it to warm her body.
He drew out the Demonic Energy of the Heavenly Demon filling his dantian and rotated it. Soon, it stimulated Ha Na-rin's dantian. The violet demonic flame and the azure cold energy clashed.
The Heaven and Earth Grand Shift.
The cold and fiery energies, spinning in the air, began to dilute. Mu-heun sent the diluted Demonic Energy of the Heavenly Demon back into Ha Na-rin's Baihui acupoint.
He was injecting the yang energy little by little to avoid straining her body.
Reacting to the incoming energy, the needles, placed in a precise order, stimulated her acupoints. The flowing energy forced impurities out through her Laogong acupoint, while the energy whose yin-yang balance had been broken flowed out from her Yongquan acupoint.
Yin energy flowed ceaselessly from Ha Na-rin's dantian, and with Mu-heun's assistance, it circulated without harming her body. However…
‘If too much energy comes from her dantian, there's a risk of damaging her Innate True Qi.’
Mu-heun took out the pill he had prepared. A blue elixir made from a blend of Kunlun Snow Ginseng and various mountain herbs.
He placed the elixir in Ha Na-rin's mouth and gave her water to help her swallow it. At that, yin energy surged from her dantian once more. It had stimulated all of her remaining energy.
‘It's done.’
Riding the momentum, Mu-heun diluted the yin energy and the Demonic Energy of the Heavenly Demon, repeating the circulation. Circulation, circulation, circulation, circulation, and again, circulation.
As the flow, like a Grand Heavenly Circulation, continued, life returned to Ha Na-rin's once-pale face.
Color returned, her pale skin became flesh-toned, and when she exhaled, warm breath, not cold air, emerged.
Soon, her once-slow heartbeat found its proper rhythm.
‘Almost there.’
Mu-heun increased the dilution concentration of the Demonic Energy of the Heavenly Demon, which was an energy of extreme yang, and Ha Na-rin gradually began to absorb it.
After six hours had passed, Mu-heun completed the energy circulation and drew the Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation. This was to check and treat Ha Na-rin's condition, which had deteriorated over time.
***
About six hours after Mu-heun had sent everyone out and begun the treatment alone, the door finally opened.
“Finally!”
Paeng Ri-hyeok couldn't hide his urgency and rushed forward.
“How did it go?”
Mu-heun looked at Paeng Ri-hyeok's worried expression, chuckled, and answered.
“The treatment was a success.”
“R-Really!”
“Haha, yes.”
Paeng Ri-hyeok was overjoyed, as if he could fly. The same was true for the Emei Sect nun who had guided Mu-heun's group to Ha Na-rin.
“You can go inside and check on her condition.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Paeng Ri-hyeok and a few nuns entered Ha Na-rin's room to check on her. They saw color in Ha Na-rin's face, which had been pale her entire life, and shed tears.
Mu-heun said to the nuns.
“She is cured for now, but her dantian, naturally suited for yin arts, remains the same. If not now, it will relapse someday, so this child must learn yin-based martial arts.”
“But... who can teach her such arts?”
The Emei Sect's yin arts had been lost for a long time. The manuals remained, but the Nine Yin Divine Arts were techniques that couldn't be learned from manuals alone; one needed the right constitution.
It had been over two hundred years since they were lost, as there was no one suitable to learn them.
In short, there was only one person on this mountain who could teach Ha Na-rin yin arts.
“Is it someone in my group?”
“...!”
Mu-heun looked at Seol Ha-ryeong, and Paeng Ri-hyeok also turned to look. Feeling the gazes on her, Seol Ha-ryeong smiled faintly from behind her veiled hat.
Mu-heun walked over and made a request to Seol Ha-ryeong.
“Please guide Ha Na-rin. She has struggled with yin and cold energy her whole life, so she will already be somewhat accustomed to sensing it. She won't need extensive guidance.”
“Then what should I teach her?”
“You just need to teach her how to release the yin energy surging from her dantian and how to protect her body.”
“I understand. So, does that make me her master? Hoho~”
“That's... about right.”
‘A member of the Demonic Cult as a master to someone from the Orthodox Sects... No, in a way, Seol Ha-ryeong's origins are also ambiguous, so I can't be sure yet.’
Mu-heun thought as he looked at the peacefully sleeping Ha Na-rin.
‘Still, it's a blessing that she can live.’
In his past life as the Divine Doctor of Sichuan, he had often visited the Emei Sect.
‘Warriors with yang energy were responsible for suppressing the child's energy, and I only prescribed medicine and performed acupuncture so she could live longer...’
“Live a long life. You have a younger brother, don't you? You have to live to see him again.”
After finishing his last sentence, Mu-heun repeated inwardly.
‘I think I've found your younger brother.’
Then, he asked the nuns that he wished to see the Sect Leader of Emei.
***
Mu-heun waited in the guest room for the nun to return. Since the favor he was about to ask would seem like he was defending the Demonic Cult, he thought hard about how to phrase it persuasively.
Just then, the nun who had gone to find the Sect Leader returned and found Mu-heun.
“The Sect Leader has requested your presence in her office.”
“Yes. I'll go at once.”
He followed the nun and arrived at the Sect Leader's office. Mu-heun maintained a slight tension as he opened the door.
But...
“You've arrived.”
“Greetings, Sect Leader.”
“Come in.”
“Ah... Greetings, Light-Splitting Immortal...”
Arriving at the Emei Sect Leader's office, Mu-heun found Pae-seon chatting with the Sect Leader.
‘Why is this guy sitting here with the Sect Leader without saying a word about his arrival...’
The conversation with the Emei Sect Leader went more smoothly than expected. This was partly because Pae-seon, the Cloud Dragon and Light-Splitting Immortal of Kunlun, had already laid the groundwork, and partly because the Emei Sect Leader was a more magnanimous person than he had thought.
The Emei Sect was a clan that had long held grievances against the Sichuan Tang Clan. They said they were truly weary of the Tang Clan's constant threats and underhanded schemes for control of Sichuan.
As a sect that simply followed the Tao, they had avoided conflict with the Sichuan Tang Clan and had downsized. However, a defensive stance had its limits.
At some point, the power gap with the Tang Clan had grown too wide.
Afterward, the Tang Clan had used all sorts of methods to pressure the Emei Sect, and it was then that they were asked to cooperate in the conflict with the Demonic Cult, which they initially found absurd.
But the Sichuan Tang Clan were people who relentlessly exploited their opponents' weaknesses.
The Sect Leader of Emei considered it her life's destiny to revive the lost Nine Yin Divine Arts.
Thus, she had kept a close eye on the child named Ha Na-rin and had searched for every possible way to cure her Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
However, when her condition worsened to the point of giving up, the Tang Clan demanded their cooperation in the conflict with the Demonic Cult under the pretext of curing her.
The Sect Leader knew. How could they possibly cure the Nine Yin Severed Meridians that even the Divine Doctor of Sichuan couldn't fix? But the Sect Leader was desperate, so she grasped at that rotten straw.
The Sect Leader had cooperated in the conflict with the Demonic Cult with a miserable heart. But a few days ago, Ha Na-rin's condition began to deteriorate drastically, and it seemed she would soon die.
So she was on the verge of giving up everything.
At a time like this, not only had he cured her, but he also offered to teach her how to handle yin arts...
From the Sect Leader's perspective, she couldn't refuse Mu-heun's request.
“The Demonic Cult and the Tang Clan will wage a war of life and death. I swear we will ensure no harm comes to other sects, so I ask that you simply observe.”
“Among the Orthodox Sects... this isn't the right thing to do, but given what the Tang Clan has done, how can we help them? Besides, the Emei Sect will now focus on reviving the Nine Yin Divine Arts. We will close our gates from today, so you need not worry.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Sect Leader.”
“Not at all. I am the one indebted to the Divine Doctor's disciple. I will send a letter to the Qingcheng Sect, so you may travel there at your ease. Of course, as long as the Light-Splitting Immortal, Elder Pae-seon, is with you, you won't be turned away at the gate.”
“Haha, thank you. I will leave one martial artist behind to pass on the yin arts. She will teach the child, Ha Na-rin, only the basics. Once she becomes somewhat accustomed to yin arts, if she learns from the Nine Yin Divine Arts manual, she should be able to revive the lost martial arts of the Emei Sect.”
“...Emei will not forget this.”
Mu-heun and Pae-seon bid farewell to the Sect Leader and left. Pae-seon then asked Mu-heun about their next destination.
“Are we going to Qingcheng now?”
“That's right... We need to move discreetly. We'll leave Seol Ha-ryeong here, and have Pa-sun, Un-pyo, and Gu Yang-baek stay at the village inn. The three of us will move: you, me, and Paeng Ri-hyeok over there.”
“Who is Paeng Ri-hyeok?”
“That... kid from the Martial Alliance.”
“Hmm... I see.”
The elders of the Emei Sect also disliked the Sichuan Tang Clan, so all decisions proceeded smoothly.
***
Mu-heun and Pae-seon set off with Paeng Ri-hyeok, an investigator from the Martial Alliance's Sichuan branch. Leaving Pa-sun, Un-pyo, and Yang-baek at the village inn, they traveled straight north from Mount Emei in Sichuan Province and arrived at Mount Qingcheng.
“This is Mount Qingcheng, known as one of the three great Taoist sacred sites, along with Mount Wudang and Mount Longhu.”
Paeng Ri-hyeok explained to Mu-heun, but Pae-seon spoke as if to say, why explain something so obvious.
“Is this your first time here?”
“No. I've been here countless times.”
“Then, let's go in.”
“Yes.”
Pae-seon and Paeng Ri-hyeok led the way, with Mu-heun following behind. As the main gate of the Qingcheng Sect came into view, a martial artist was standing there, and upon seeing them from a distance, he hurried over.
“It is an honor to meet the Cloud Dragon of Kunlun.”
The man greeting Pae-seon with a cupped fist salute looked to be around thirty years old.
“And who are you?”
“I am Gu Mok-yeong, one of Qingcheng's second-generation disciples. The Emei Sect sent a letter via carrier pigeon, so I knew you were coming, Elder, and came out to greet you. The Sect Leader is away for a short while, but he will return soon.”
“How long is 'soon'? Do you know when he'll be back?”
“The scheduled time for his return is almost here. He should be back within fifteen minutes. For now, I will guide you to the Sect Leader's office, Elder Pae-seon. I will have sweets and tea served.”
“Ahem, I see. Gu Mok-yeong... Please lead the way. This is Baek Mu-heun, the hidden disciple of the Divine Doctor of Sichuan, and this is... what was it... from the Martial Alliance's Sichuan branch.”
“Investigator Paeng Ri-hyeok.”
“Haha, I am well aware of the great hero Paeng. As for the Divine Doctor's disciple, it is a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”
Gu Mok-yeong greeted Mu-heun as if it were their first meeting, but Mu-heun just stared intently at him.
“Haha, it seems the Divine Doctor's hidden disciple is shy, unlike his master.”
Mok-yeong eventually let out a hearty laugh and guided Pae-seon's group. But there was another reason why Mu-heun hadn't answered and had only stared.
It was because Mu-heun had already met Mok-yeong many times before.
‘This guy... hasn't changed a bit.’