Chapter 225
Chapter 225
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 225
Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm
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Having heard Myeong Ryong-ja's story, the Sword Demon looked incredulous for a moment.
It made sense. A martial artist lived solely by the martial arts they had cultivated throughout their life and was close to being an atheist when it came to gods.
The idea that the secret behind the strength of the supreme guardians—the strongest of the strong—came from gods was simply too hard to accept.
Perhaps because of that, the Sword Demon remained silent for a long time, hesitating.
Then he spoke.
"Fine, let's say gods exist. Does that mean the guardians borrow that immense power from them without any cost?"
"That can't be. Even a mere evil spirit demands a commensurate price for lending its power. Wielding that much force must come with an enormous price."
"An enormous price..."
The Sword Demon shook his head.
"Myeong Ryong-ja, I just can't buy it. Even gods sound like pie in the sky."
"That's the usual reaction. But there's no other way to explain the Heavenly Spirit Pill."
Myeong Ryong-ja seemed utterly convinced.
Likely because he was a Daoist from the Wudang Sect, familiar with both orthodox and unorthodox paths.
The Sword Demon pressed.
"Surely even Dao arts have realms comparable to the Heavenly Spirit Pill?"
"You mean Exchanging Bones and Shedding Form?"
"Yes."
Exchanging Bones and Shedding Form!
It was a legendary realm: shedding one's mortal shell and being reborn into a perfect martial body, while attaining either a youthful form or returning to one's prime.
From what I recalled, the evidence of the Heavenly Spirit Pill was infinite internal energy and Exchanging Bones and Shedding Form, so the Sword Demon had a point.
But Myeong Ryong-ja scoffed.
"Hardly! Exchanging Bones and Shedding Form is merely a phenomenon where one's qi reaches its peak, transforming the body into its optimal state. It's true that maximum qi surges afterward, but it's nothing compared to the semi-permanent, infinite internal energy of the Heavenly Spirit Pill."
"......?"
I felt confused by Myeong Ryong-ja's words.
'This contradicts Lee Gwang's explanation.'
I recalled what Lee Gwang had said about the Heavenly Spirit Pill in the past.
[The Heavenly Spirit Pill means the middle dantian has opened. The qi accumulated in the lower dantian overflows, fully unblocking the eight extraordinary meridians and the life-and-death mysterious passes, yet still influences the surrounding space. At that point, the accumulated qi truly forms the pill, granting semi-permanent internal energy that doesn't diminish no matter how much you use.]
[But you haven't reached the Heavenly Spirit Pill yet. From what I know, achieving it requires a special process with your own qi. Its signs are near-infinite internal energy and Exchanging Bones and Shedding Form.]
[Returning to youth is part of it too. Through that process, one either becomes youthful again or maintains their prime body. Since that hasn't come for you, it's not a complete Heavenly Spirit Pill.]
Something was off.
There was a contradiction.
Or perhaps... something missing?
I pondered deeply, then suddenly raised my hand.
When Myeong Ryong-ja's gaze turned to me, I spoke without hesitation.
"Excuse me, but I have a question!"
"What is it?"
"A disciple of the guardians once told me the Heavenly Spirit Pill means the middle dantian opens. Qi from the lower dantian overflows, forming the pill and leading to Exchanging Bones and Shedding Form. But that differs from your explanation, Myeong Ryong-ja."
Myeong Ryong-ja looked at me in disbelief.
"A disciple of the guardians? And who told you that?"
"......"
As I hesitated, the Sword Demon intervened.
"Let it go. Answer the question first."
The Sword Demon already knew from the White Lotus Cult that I was from the Thunder God Style and had been expelled.
Naturally, in this life, my greatest ally was the Sword Demon, so I had to reveal that much.
He didn't know my master was Lee Gwang, just that I was some expert from the Thunder God Style.
"Hmm..."
Myeong Ryong-ja eyed me suspiciously before answering.
"Assuming what you say, Baek Woong, is true, then there's likely a step we're missing."
"A missing step?"
"If that person's words are accurate, then overflowing lower dantian qi forming the middle dantian pill is just the basic condition for obtaining the Heavenly Spirit Pill, not the pill itself. In other words, only after achieving that and undergoing Exchanging Bones and Shedding Form does one truly enter the Heavenly Spirit Pill realm."
"......!!"
Exchanging Bones and Shedding Form as a mere prerequisite, not the result!
'What? Then could that be...'
I recalled what Mang Ryang had said in his 14th reincarnation when joining the Incarnation Style.
[Truth be told, I wanted to learn the Water God Style, hailed as the strongest of the Four Guardian Styles, but it seemed to require some special ritual, so I passed.]
[A special ritual?]
[Yes. The cult leader said it was fine for me to learn the Water God Style, but I'd have to undergo a special grand ritual in the White Lotus Cult's forbidden grounds for a year. Since your matters were urgent and it felt suspicious, I couldn't choose the Water God Style.]
I also remembered Sword Saint Kamiizumi Nobutsuna's words from Dongyoung.
[One who masters the Water God Style becomes the world's strongest, but not a peak expert.]
[Their arts are special secrets only the bloodline of the White Lotus Cult Leader can learn. It can't be called a proper martial school. Moreover, the Water God Style is extremely secretive.]
"......"
The pieces clicked in my mind, forming a conclusion.
'The special ritual in the Water God Style that lasts a year—could it be tied to the Heavenly Spirit Pill?!'
It had to be!
It might transmit the Water God Style's unique abilities, but my intuition screamed yes.
If the Heavenly Spirit Pill's power came from borrowing a divine being's strength—and the Water God Style, closest to the gods via the White Lotus Cult Leader's sect—there had to be a deep connection.
Especially since they deliberately called it a 'ritual.'
'That explains why Lee Gwang didn't fully know about the Heavenly Spirit Pill.'
As the top successor of the Thunder God Style, he was expelled young from the White Lotus Cult without full transmission.
He likely only had half the knowledge, missing the massive secret of the Heavenly Spirit Pill.
As I pondered deeply, Myeong Ryong-ja continued.
"Without countering the Heavenly Spirit Pill, opposing the White Lotus Cult is suicide. We'd need power equal to theirs or an ultimate spirit-severing technique that ignores infinite internal energy."
The Sword Demon chuckled.
"Both sound insane. The latter's utterly unrealistic."
"True enough. Only a Great Thunder Immortal could wield such a spirit-severing technique. A human trying would wither and die midway."
"......"
From their exchange, I spotted another possibility.
I knew a Great Thunder Immortal existed.
'Sword Immortal Yeo Dongbin's Fire Dragon Summoning! Could that work?'
His ultimate technique: unleashing a heavenly fire dragon from the Celestial Realm by fully opening the Eight Gates atop my internal energy, sweeping hundreds of feet!
No one but Dalgi had withstood it, not even the guardians' signature moves matching its power.
Thinking back, Yeo Dongbin's Fire Dragon Summoning felt like one of the ultimate spirit-severing techniques.
'Eh, still unrealistic.'
Fire Dragon Summoning was the supreme ultimate of the Sword Immortal Yeo Dongbin.
It required sword enlightenment at the Sword Immortal level, and even then, fully liberating the Eight Gates meant certain death after use.
I couldn't use it, and using it would kill me—pointless.
But the mere possibility was enough.
I resolved to ask Yeo Dongbin next time about Fire Dragon Summoning and his sword qi in detail.
The Sword Demon spoke.
"Whether the Heavenly Spirit Pill is divine power or not doesn't matter now. What counts is if we can gain enough strength."
"So you propose we train the Cave Profound Sword and Tianzhu Sword together?"
"Exactly. Even without infinite internal energy, if we gain skill to seize short-battle advantage, we can gain the upper hand against the guardians."
"Hmm..."
The Sword Demon hit the nail on the head.
I'd personally witnessed Lee Gwang and Jin So-cheong overwhelming and nearly killing Yong Bi-cheon in a short clash, thanks to their martial enlightenment surpassing him.
The Sword Demon, a genius no less, grasped the truth of combat.
'If we can slay a guardian exploiting overconfidence in their internal energy superiority...'
Of course, it might only work on Yong Bi-cheon, not Dokgo Jun or Han Baek-ryeong.
But possibility itself mattered.
Myeong Ryong-ja pondered long before replying.
"I'm all for it, but you have your own sect—hard to be away long?"
"I trust my disciples. They'll hold off riffraff."
"Fair enough."
Myeong Ryong-ja nodded firmly.
"Very well. Let's three of us delve into the martial arts! I'll speak to Cheongpung—no one in this world will disturb our training."
"Ah, before that..."
The Sword Demon led me dozens of feet to some bushes.
He stared at me, then quietly said.
"You've pieced something together, haven't you?"
"As a Thunder God Style disciple, I have doubts about the Heavenly Spirit Pill."
"Can you share now?"
"Yes."
I told the Sword Demon my recent deductions.
Hearing me out, he twitched his brow and said.
"That's... if true, monumental. But strange."
"......"
"You're old in years yet look under thirty, far younger. Hard to believe you've gained such vast knowledge through experience."
His suspicion was justified.
'No more.'
The Sword Demon wasn't one to fool easily—he wasn't a fool, and it went against propriety.
Realizing I couldn't hide further, I pulled a large black obsidian from my throat armor.
As he tilted his head, I said.
"Can you trust me?"
"I do."
"Then place your hand on this."
It was my gamble.
Lee Gwang would've rejected such a suspicious offer outright, binding or killing me.
Assuming the Sword Demon saw me fully as an ally, I decided to share memories.
I hadn't even with Mang Ryang or Miho—making him my sole comrade.
The Sword Demon hesitated long, then grasped the black obsidian.
I sighed in relief.
"Then... I'll show you."
Flash!!
The memories in the obsidian flooded into the Sword Demon instantly.
Stunned by the influx, he quickly composed himself, gazing at the distant sky, reliving each one.
"Hmm..."
Then he looked at me and said.
"So that's why you refused my daughter. Indeed..."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I'd bet everything here—even death was fine.
Most would turn hostile upon facing a reincarnator.
The Sword Demon fell silent, then spoke.
"I have a question, Baek Woong."
"Yes."
His tone was unprecedentedly grave.
"The path you've walked... even I, who prides myself on weathering every storm, have never imagined such an asura field. Any hardship or effort before you would seem laughable. Your life must have been the most tormented and wretched of any in this world."
Prefacing thus, he continued.
"Yet you shun an easy life, fighting to topple the Imperial Palace to the end—even defying the Celestial Realm's Great Thunder Immortal. What drives you to fight that hard?"
I sensed this question's profound importance.
So I thought long, not rushing.
But the more I mulled, the more mired I felt, so I bared my honest thoughts.
"It's anger at giving up."
"Anger...? The Imperial Palace's power is absolute, and you've secured wealth for a lifetime of ease—yet you're angry? You could wed three wives and four concubines, become a great merchant lord reveling in wine, women, song, and food."
I chuckled at his words.
"That sounds nice. But I haven't avenged my friend's killer or my own rage. And there's a woman I can stake everything to love."
"......"
"I'm a reincarnator. Consider it from my view."
I clenched my fist.
"Could you endure endless tyranny infinitely in a life without end?"
The Imperial Palace's human sacrifices or White Lotus Cult's rampages might bring random calamity tied to them.
I couldn't just dodge claiming "not my problem."
I'd experienced karma linking in unexpected ways countless times.
"......!!"
"To me, that's greater waste."
"I see..."
The Sword Demon seemed to understand.
Yes.
As long as the Heavenly Dark Secret Book offered regression chances, I might live near-infinitely.
Must I then watch the colossal foe's tyranny from afar, inwardly relieved "glad it's not me," until my spirit breaks and I lose my humanity? Endure that with mere luxuries?
Absolutely not. That infuriates more.
Could I ignore their atrocities, reveling in unjust luxury?
I'm no paragon of justice.
That'd be idiotic.
No telling how many more deaths ahead—but I wanted to surpass the Imperial Palace with pure power, discarding righteousness or ethics.
Only then, able to crush those bastards tormenting me, Mang Ryang, and Miho anytime, would true [happiness] come.
At least until landing one solid blow, I couldn't quit.
Not until showing Mang Ryang and Miho a happy future—man's pride forbade it.
The Sword Demon laughed shortly.
"If that's your mind, steel yourself from now on."
"......!!"
"We'll delve into Jang Sambong's insights more rigorously than training with Thunder God Style prodigies. You'll likely need his Unmatched Tyrant ultimate too."
Stunned, I asked.
"You truly... understand me?"
I stammered from shock.
I'd expected rejection or attack.
Even inwardly braced for failed persuasion.
Yet the Sword Demon accepted me.
He said.
"Honestly, before your words, I considered killing you."
Gazing skyward, he added.
"But not now. Seeing your spirit, I believe you won't fall to corruption."
"Corruption?"
"Anyone peering into your memories would fear it: lost to past lives, blurring good and evil, unrestrained rampage... Your closest would suffer most then."
"......"
No retort.
I'd thought that early this reincarnation.
"But somehow, I sense you won't. You're the strongest-willed human I've seen. Who else could die fifteen times, trampled nearly a century, yet keep righteous heart and passion? Who could face an ancient god unbowed, unbroken? Not I."
The Sword Demon sighed.
"Perhaps even this moment's mere hardship, your fate gathering all karma."
Gathering karma.
I murmured it like chewing.
Felt familiar somehow.
"Ever pondered what standing here means? It's because Mang Ryang and Miho believed in you to the end. They thought you'd never lose your humanity, so they staked lives for you. As you protected them, they protected you."
"......!!"
"Such trust in life is rare. Especially betrayal-free..."
Muttering, the Sword Demon met my eyes squarely.
"Then I swear here."
His eyes gleamed.
"I'll devote my life to forging your strength! So you can carry hope to your next life."
Something surged hot from my eyes.
Throat tightened.
I wiped it hastily, replying.
"Thank you."
I've died endlessly, never believing in miracles just for me.
Experiencing inevitable death repeatedly makes it normal.
But now, I wanted to believe.
I'd gained a true comrade to trust this life.