Chapter 134
Chapter 134
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: The Golden Immortal Pill Takes Effect
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Namgung Hyeok closed his eyes lightly and circulated the Heavenly Bright King Art.
No sooner had it entered his body than the Golden Immortal Pill's energy stimulated his dantian.
The Heavenly Bright King Art's pure inner energy reacted, welcoming the influx.
Whooooom!
The Heavenly Bright King Art intertwined with the Golden Immortal Pill's energy, guiding it along.
'It's different.'
It was incomparable to the spirit pills he had consumed in the Namgung family.
No, true to Hoeng Mok's bold claims, the Golden Immortal Pill's energy far surpassed even Shaolin's Great Return Pill.
The Golden Immortal Pill's energy blended with the Heavenly Bright King Art's pure inner energy, flowing through his channels.
A normal spirit pill would have been filtered out impurities by the Heavenly Bright King Art, over and over.
But the Golden Immortal Pill's energy was different.
Far from being filtered, it clumped together, denser and denser.
Every time the Golden Immortal Pill's energy circulated through his channels alongside the Heavenly Bright King Art's inner energy, Namgung Hyeok felt an immense sense of cool clarity.
At the same time, his damaged channels began recovering at a rapid pace.
'Urgh!'
The energy flowing from the Golden Immortal Pill filled his body to the brim.
The Heavenly Bright King Art's energy swirling within him moved several times faster than before.
One cycle, two cycles, three...
The Heavenly Bright King Art devoured the Golden Immortal Pill's energy ravenously, as if it had encountered its favorite food.
It absorbed the energy faster and faster, growing ever stronger.
The ever-changing, domineering Heavenly Bright King Art surged straight into his middle dantian, brushing against his innate essence.
The abundant energy flooded in like a tidal wave, making his innate essence writhe.
Gulp, gulp!
'It’s working!'
His innate essence, which hadn't budged despite all sorts of spirit medicines and tonics, began sucking up the Golden Immortal Pill's energy greedily.
The speed was terrifying.
His withered innate essence quickly regained its vitality.
As the innate essence activated, it generated hot yang energy in his heart, expelling the yin energy lodged there.
Color returned to Namgung Hyeok's pale complexion.
'It’s coming back, it’s coming back!'
His ruined innate essence filled up rapidly.
If he weren't in the midst of circulating his energy, he would have jumped up and shouted in joy by now.
The delight of his shattered innate essence—tormenting him all winter—finally recovering!
'Yeah, after all that suffering, this is the least it could do!'
A little more digging in the frozen ground, and he would have frozen or withered away from lack of energy. This was only natural.
It was while Namgung Hyeok was satisfied that a single unfinished Golden Immortal Pill had restored his innate essence.
'Huh?'
The Golden Immortal Pill's energy surging through his channels, the Heavenly Bright King Art's inner energy, and his innate essence all began to move.
Fiercely and swiftly.
It wasn't slipping out of control.
It was instinctively seeking a place to release the overflowing energy.
Namgung Hyeok's mind flashed.
Right—this was an opportunity.
You seize opportunities when they come.
How could he settle for just restoring his innate essence with such a golden chance?
Namgung Hyeok seized the reins of the writhing energy and turned it.
Fwaaaah!
Namgung Hyeok circulated the Heavenly Bright King Art to its utmost.
The world's greatest, unparalleled divine art fused his innate essence and the Golden Immortal Pill's energy into one.
It roughly bound the two energies and pulled them along.
'Good—let's go!'
The Heavenly Bright King Art charged full force toward the blocked channel in his Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
'Break through!'
* * *
Geon Cheon-hwi stared blankly at Namgung Hyeok, who sat cross-legged in one corner of the secret chamber.
Flash, flash!
Golden light blazed behind Namgung Hyeok's back, sweeping away the darkness that had settled in the chamber.
Geon Cheon-hwi gaped, holding a fairly substantial failed Golden Immortal Pill in his hand.
'Is that a person or a firefly?'
He was dumbfounded by Namgung Hyeok's self-illuminating form.
“……Does circulating energy normally make you glow like that? Do I do that too?”
Like hell you do, you punk.
Geon Cheon-hwi sighed, glancing at Tak Hyuk-dong muttering beside him, when—
Rumble! Flash! Crackle-crackle!
Blue lightning began flashing from Namgung Hyeok's heart, rising toward the ceiling alongside the golden energy.
The Thunder Dragon Squad's jaws dropped once more at the dragon ascending to the heavens.
Why was thunder and lightning crashing during energy circulation?
And what was that golden energy?
It was beyond absurd—utterly ridiculous.
“What the…….”
“Is energy circulation supposed to be that flashy?”
“It's rising, it's rising!”
“Rising?”
The Thunder Dragon Squad's heads slowly tilted upward.
Namgung Hyeok, sitting cross-legged, was floating into the air as if a string were tied to his back.
This was the legendary levitation they had only heard about.
To witness it in person!
“Whoa…….”
“Our young master is flying too.”
“……We've seen it all now.”
Geon Cheon-hwi, Tak Hyuk-dong, and Jang Woong each muttered a word.
The airborne Namgung Hyeok began going even more berserk.
Boom! Thud-thud-thud! Craaaack!
Hah, even energy circulation follows his temperament.
The three thought the same.
Namgung Hyeok's expression twisted and relaxed repeatedly in midair, the ripples of his circulation shaking the chamber.
The three, who had been dazed watching the floating Namgung Hyeok, exchanged glances.
‘……Is this what they mean by the pill's effect?’
‘There's crazy pill effects like this?’
‘We're seeing it right now, aren't we?’
It defied all logic, but happening right before their eyes, they had no choice but to believe in this insane pill effect.
Since ancient times, three things drove martial artists mad:
Divine arts.
Divine weapons.
Spirit pills.
And one of those—a spirit pill—was right there.
Jang Woong slyly rolled his eyes.
His gaze scanned Geon Cheon-hwi and Tak Hyuk-dong, who couldn't shut their mouths, then wiggled his toes.
Sneak, sneak.
He glanced around cautiously, inching slowly, stealthily toward the purple sandalwood box.
He hunched low like a thieving cat eyeing a fish, holding his breath.
'Heh heh!'
Jang Woong smirked slyly and reached for the purple sandalwood box.
Slap!
“Ow!”
Jang Woong flinched and looked ahead.
Namgung Ryong glared down at him with shining blue eyes.
“Hands off, Hyeok's stuff.”
“……I-I was just gonna swap it out since this one's so substantial.”
“Put it down.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jang Woong gave Namgung Ryong an awkward look.
Namgung Ryong's eyes narrowed, scanning Jang Woong up and down.
Then he quietly pointed at him, poking the air.
Cold sweat dripped down Jang Woong's forehead.
‘……I'm screwed.’
He'd been marked for sure.
As Jang Woong chuckled like a half-mad fool—
Rumble! Boom! Flaaash!
KABOOM!
Lightning erupted from the crown of the floating Namgung Hyeok like a volcano, shooting toward the ceiling.
Rumble! BOOM!
Lightning from behind his back struck everywhere like bolts from the blue.
The frenzy peaked, and the sudden earthquake shook the chamber.
Even Namgung Ryong, who had been standing guard for Namgung Hyeok, hopped back, eyes wide as saucers.
He might have already been awake, one couldn't help suspecting.
Namgung Hyeok, who had been floating and spewing thunderbolts nonstop, slowly descended to the floor.
Everyone watched, entranced, as he settled down lightly like a falling feather.
A heavy silence fell, tense anticipation filling the chamber, someone gulping dryly.
Gulp.
At that moment, Namgung Hyeok's closed eyes snapped open.
Fwaaaah!
Blue lightning incinerated the chamber's darkness in an instant.
“Gasp!”
“Whoa!”
Geon Cheon-hwi inhaled sharply, and Tak Hyuk-dong fell on his butt from behind.
The Thunder Dragon Squad leaped back, putting distance between them and Namgung Hyeok.
At that instant!
“Ha ha ha ha ha! It worked! It worked!”
Worked? What?
Namgung Ryong and the Thunder Dragon Squad wondered simultaneously.
Everyone stared at Namgung Hyeok in bewilderment.
Now back on the ground, Namgung Hyeok raised both arms triumphantly, overcome with surging ecstasy.
How long had it been?
How long?
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
One blocked acupoint had opened, and he felt like he could fly.
Strength filled his body, energy surged.
Clenching and unclenching his fists felt effortless, his shoulders light.
The yin energy knotted in his chest was almost gone.
The inner energy in his lower abdomen seemed to have increased fivefold.
Namgung Hyeok circulated his inner energy once.
With one more acupoint opened, the Heavenly Bright King Art's energy spread and returned twice as fast.
Vitality welled up from his body, though something felt slightly off.
“Why's it been so hot since earlier?”
Namgung Hyeok frowned lightly, then his eyes widened.
Hot?
He felt hot?
That word, so foreign since this body had awakened.
That sensation!
Namgung Hyeok grinned ear to ear and flung off his now-ragged sheepskin coat.
“……Hyeok?”
Namgung Ryong, watching from a step away, panicked.
Namgung Hyeok, who had bundled up in sheepskin against the cold since arriving in Hebei, was stripping it off—who wouldn't be shocked?
Cold was poison to Namgung Hyeok with his Nine Yin Severed Meridians!
Yet.
“Haa, now I can breathe! Man, now I feel human.”
After circulating and heat rising from his body, he truly felt the acupoint had opened.
Whether Namgung Ryong was shocked or not, Namgung Hyeok smirked.
'Ha ha. It worked, it really worked!'
One more Nine Yin Severed Meridian acupoint opened, innate essence restored—he could finally complete the Heavenly Bright King Art and temper his body. Ecstasy surged again.
His gaze turned to the remaining Golden Immortal Pills neatly in the purple sandalwood box.
What a tremendous spirit pill.
Even more astonishing—it was unfinished.
“Wow!”
Namgung Hyeok exclaimed in admiration.
“Then how insane would the finished version be?”
The closest to finished among them was still imperfect, yet with its power, he had restored his innate essence and pierced one Nine Yin Severed Meridian acupoint.
He couldn't even imagine the mad effects of the perfected Golden Immortal Pill from Hoeng Mok's secret manual.
But one thing was certain: it was his now!
'Heh heh heh heh.'
If he could produce Golden Immortal Pills just by following the pill manual, didn't that mean daily doses of the world's greatest medicine?
'An unfinished pill does this much— one perfected pill, and I'd ascend to immortality, right?'
He'd go flying off, totally blissed out!
Wow, just imagining it made him happy.
“Heh heh, heh heh heh heh!”
Strange giggles escaped Namgung Hyeok's lips.
'Now I can really get moving.'
Finishing his martial art like this, perfecting the Golden Immortal Pill to fully open his channels—laughter wouldn't stop at the thought.
Namgung Hyeok rubbed his chin, eyeing the unfinished Golden Immortal Pill.
'That one's for the family head or something.'
Yeah, that's fair play. Ahem!
There were massive rewards besides.
The secret manuals and weapons stashed by the suicide squad, and Hoeng Mok's pill refinement secrets.
'Time to grab those and head back quick?'
So much to do once he got home.
A wicked grin spread across Namgung Hyeok's face.
He glared outside the chamber.
'Fairies, you bastards—wait just a bit. I'm coming.'
I'll ascend and rip your heads off to stick on your asses!
Crunch.
When he says he'll do it, he does it.
No matter what!
Rumble.
Then, a sound like distant thunder reached Namgung Hyeok's ears.
'What’s that?'
Someone else circulating energy?
Rumble.
“Huh?”
Namgung Hyeok reflexively looked up at the sound from above.
'Looks normal?'
Just an ordinary cave ceiling...
Crack.
“Huh?”
Did that not just crack?
Craaack.
……Huh? It's spreading?
Crack-crackle.
“…….”
Cracks spread across the chamber ceiling.
Pitter, patter.
Dust rained down on his face.
Soon, fist-sized rocks began plopping to the floor.
Rumble, rumble.
The entire chamber shook.
As Namgung Hyeok stared dumbly at the ceiling, the distant Thunder Dragon Squad panicked.
“Y-Young master! Young master, above!”
“I-It cracked!”
“Why circulate so flashily!”
“Eek! It's collapsing, collapsing!”
Collapsing?
“……It's collapsing?”
Geon Cheon-hwi pointed at the ceiling in horror, Tak Hyuk-dong hopped about, and Jang Woong already reached for the chamber exit.
“Ha…….”
Namgung Hyeok smiled faintly at the scene.
“Damn, figures.”
Everything had gone too smoothly.
Ha ha ha ha ha!
“What are you doing! Run…….”
Namgung Hyeok shut his mouth upon seeing the Thunder Dragon Squad and Namgung Ryong already sprinting away.
“……You rotten bastards.”
Rabbits were fast, huh.
“Grab the goods first before running, you idiots!”
Even in the chaos, Namgung Hyeok couldn't let go of his greed for loot.