Chapter 203: Re: Alchemy Master (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 203: Re: Alchemy Master (1)
The Transcendent Realm.
This stage, comparable to that of an Extreme Demon, involved the expansion of the Spirit, allowing a martial artist to turn the surrounding space into their own domain.
The key lay in that expansion. The Spirit—a martial artist's mental intent—was deeply intertwined with the mind. But what exactly was it?
Simply put, it could be called the Upper Dantian. In a broader sense, it encompassed everything related to mental activity.
Seo-jun recalled the words of the Sword God.
‘The time required for the Spirit to ripen. That is all you lack to reach the Transcendent Realm.’
Lately, Seo-jun had begun to wonder if he could really trust that man’s words. But regardless, the Sword Immortal was a being who had surpassed the Profound Realm and achieved Ascension.
As for the Extreme Demon stage... well, that wasn't his specialty, so he might have been a bit confused about the specifics.
At any rate, the Sword God had said that what Seo-jun lacked was time.
So, what did "time" actually mean in this context?
Unlike fruit hanging from a tree, a human’s Spirit didn't ripen just by idling away the hours. One could gain enlightenment through quiet meditation and Zen practice, but according to the Sword God, Seo-jun didn't need that specific kind of enlightenment.
‘Humans accumulate various experiences as time passes.’
Therefore, the Sword God’s words were synonymous with saying he needed to gain more diverse experiences. To him, "time" was just another word for "experience."
Seo-jun was certain of one thing. From a martial perspective, his experience was already sufficient to reach the Transcendent Realm. His combat experience, if lacking in sheer quantity, was more than enough in quality.
Thus, the missing piece was obvious. Just ordinary experience. In other words, life experience.
He wondered what mundane life had to do with one's martial stage, but when he considered the nature of the martial arts pursued by the Righteous Faction, he could hazard a guess.
To them, martial arts were not merely techniques for killing. It was a path to becoming a greater being—a method of self-cultivation and refinement.
‘In short, traveling around is basically training for my realm.’
Diverse life experiences? That sounded exactly like a journey.
The timing was perfect. Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah had recently reached the Super Peak Realm. As long as those two could handle Astral Qi to some extent, there would be almost no danger in traveling through the territories of the Righteous Faction.
Even if an emergency arose, he could just close his eyes and pull out the Fire Demon Realm for a moment.
"Therefore, we are going to train," Seo-jun announced.
At his words, Chun-bong nodded hesitantly. "O-okay..."
Meeting Chun-bong's eyes, Seo-jun scratched his chin awkwardly. Beside them, Namgung Su-ah quietly stifled a laugh. Ever since the engagement incident, the atmosphere between the two had been incredibly strange.
It felt as if something big was bound to happen between them sooner or later.
"Uh... anyway. You both know why a martial artist's power jumps significantly when they reach the Super Peak Realm, right?"
Namgung Su-ah raised her hand high. "Yes! It's because of Astral Qi, right?"
"Correct."
"Don't I get a prize?" Namgung Su-ah tapped her lips playfully.
After a quick glance around, Seo-jun leaned in and gave her a light peck on the lips.
"Ahem. Anyway. The reason you two can't properly handle Astral Qi even after reaching the Super Peak Realm is..."
Flash!
Chun-bong vigorously shot her hand into the air. "I-I know! It's because we haven't prepared the vessel to hold the Spirit!"
"Chun-bu-i, that's amazing!"
"E-ehehe!"
Nodding proudly, Chun-bong squeezed her eyes shut and puckered her lips. Seo-jun gave her a quick peck as well.
‘What is even happening right now?’
He glanced at Namgung Su-ah, who had clearly orchestrated this entire dynamic, and saw her giggling as if she were having the time of her life. I mean, it wasn't a bad thing, but he couldn't help wondering if this was really okay.
"...Astral Qi is, ultimately, the art of imbuing the Spirit into Qi. To contain the Spirit—the star that can also be called mental imagery—the foundational Qi must be sufficiently sturdy."
Seo-jun released his internal energy over his hand. It flickered like a flame while maintaining a roughly elongated shape.
"This is what your current state feels like."
The frame was there, but it wasn't sturdy enough.
"And to handle proper Astral Qi, it needs to feel like this."
Shhh—
The golden internal energy instantly took the form of a sword.
Namgung Su-ah marveled. "That's the Vast Heaven Sword!"
It was the exact shape of the sword primarily used by the Namgung Clan's combat units. Every detail of its ornamentation was so clearly realized that it was instantly recognizable.
Feeling a bit proud, Seo-jun took it a step further. "Later on, you can even do something like this."
Whoosh!
Color began to bleed into the sword shape formed over Seo-jun's hand.
Originally, the color of internal energy depended on the heart method one practiced. While it could change based on one's mental imagery or constitution, even then, it would remain permanently fixed in that state. Unless one changed their internal energy heart method, the color of their Qi could almost never be altered.
But Seo-jun was different. He knew how to handle various types of internal energy, and their colors varied accordingly. He had now reached a stage where he could change the color of his Qi at will.
And the result?
"Wait...?"
Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah’s jaws dropped. It was the Vast Heaven Sword. Not a sword made of internal energy, but a real, physical Vast Heaven Sword seemed to be resting right there in his grasp.
"No, what in the..."
Flustered, Chun-bong forgot her embarrassment and reached out to touch the Vast Heaven Sword floating above Seo-jun's hand.
Ting—
When she flicked the blade, a clear, metallic ring echoed. From the slightly cold touch to the smooth surface of the blade, it felt exactly like a sword forged from genuine steel.
"If you vary the properties of the internal energy slightly for each part, you can even replicate the feel of metal or leather."
"No, but why...?"
"Huh? Why what?"
"How is this even possible...?"
It completely defied logic. Was this truly within the realm of human ability? Creating something from nothing was not a mortal feat. This was truly the realm of creation!
‘Hmm, is it really that impressive?’
Seo-jun felt a bit bashful under their intense admiration. He didn't think it was something to react so strongly to.
‘I wonder if I’ll be able to make clones later on.’
Tucking that sudden thought into a corner of his mind, Seo-jun dispersed the internal energy in his hand.
"Ah..."
Namgung Su-ah and Chun-bong looked deeply disappointed, but they couldn't just stand there staring all day.
"Alright, anyway, you know what you need to do now, right?"
At the Peak Realm, it was nearly impossible to manifest internal energy into such a distinct physical form. However, once one reached the Super Peak Realm and could imbue Qi with the Spirit, the Qi and Spirit complemented each other, making both far more solid.
"Practice here for a bit. I'll be back."
"W-wait a second...!"
"Yeah?"
Chun-bong released internal energy over her hand. But naturally, it was impossible for it to take the shape of a sword.
"You want me to make a sword shape in mid-air with just internal energy? That's the Qi Sword technique."
It wasn't a skill one could aim for when they couldn't even handle Astral Qi properly.
"Of course not. I'm just telling you to try making the Sword Qi on your actual sword a bit more distinct."
"O-oh, I see..." Feeling sheepish, Chun-bong nodded. "I'll work hard."
"Good luck, Chun-bu-i! I'll be back in a bit, so you work hard too, Noona."
"Yes. I'll do my best."
"Good."
Nodding with satisfaction, Seo-jun turned away. His destination was the Heavenly Medicine Hall.
*
The Heavenly Medicine Hall, which he hadn't visited in quite a while, was quiet.
A peculiar scent tickled his nose, suggesting they hadn't stopped their alchemy work, but it didn't seem nearly as hectic as when they were forging the Heaven-Man Divine Elixir.
‘Well, I guess living like that every day would shorten their lifespans.’
Back then, how much had Namgung Yeong-bo, the Medicine Hall Master, complained about feeling like he was dying?
Seo-jun let out a small chuckle and knocked on the door of the alchemy room. "I'm here."
The moment he spoke, a loud thud-crash! echoed from inside, and the door flew open immediately.
"Oh my...! You've arrived, Young Master...!" Namgung Yeong-bo greeted him with a beaming smile, bowing repeatedly.
It was a familiar sight by now. Seo-jun accepted the greeting naturally and stepped into the alchemy room.
"How is it going?"
Instead of Namgung Yeong-bo, Yang Song-baek, a member of the hall, answered. "The preparation itself is finished, but... are you truly saying you can convert this into pure Qi?"
At those skeptical words, Namgung Yeong-bo’s thunderous scolding immediately followed. "You piece of trash! How dare you doubt the Young Master? This is heresy!"
"No, honestly, aren't you curious too, Hall Master?"
Namgung Yeong-bo’s eyes shifted slightly. He then looked at Seo-jun and gave a sheepish grin. "U-um, would it be alright if we observed your work from the side? We will stay as quiet as if we weren't even breathing!"
"You should at least breathe." Seo-jun chuckled and followed Namgung Yeong-bo’s guidance to where the items he had entrusted to them were kept.
Those items were none other than the Horns of Nok So-pyeong.
As the box containing the antlers was opened, a strange pressure weighed down on the area.
"You said everything is ready?"
"Yes. We have prepared all the ingredients to match the utility of the antlers, calculating for when the energy within them is converted into pure Qi."
It meant that if he could just convert the energy within the antlers into pure Qi, they could create an incredible spirit medicine. Of course, converting high-purity demonic Qi into another form of energy was a task bordering on the impossible.
However, for Seo-jun, it wasn't particularly difficult.
The Horns of Nok So-pyeong? They were impressive, sure, but the amount of demonic Qi wasn't nearly as much as what had been in the Purification Tree.
After a moment of thought, Seo-jun activated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Whoosh!
In an instant, he entered the Fire Demon Realm, and a strange pressure exerted itself on the surroundings. Namgung Yeong-bo, who had swayed on his feet for a moment, widened his eyes.
"Oh, Young Master...!"
Seo-jun had revealed the Fire Demon Realm to further enhance the efficacy of the elixir they would make from the antlers. It was a decision made because he trusted the people of the Namgung Clan, but he couldn't help but feel inwardly tense.
"That appearance...! You have evolved into a form optimized for alchemy...!"
Of course, he hadn't expected this reaction.
"Pardon?"
"As expected...! Looking at the shape of those horns, they must react very sensitively to the flow of surrounding Qi!"
"Uh... well, that is true."
"Incredible! By reaching such a realm, you must be able to handle ingredients tainted by demonic Qi with much greater ease!"
He wasn't wrong, but... this was just...
"Yeah, well. Anyway, I'm starting."
"Yes...! I shall keep my eyes wide open and learn...!"
At any rate, it was the return of the alchemy master, Lee Seo-jun.