Soul Binding Art
“Could it be that you failed again this time?”
At my master’s regretful rebuke, I felt my head grow heavy all on its own.
There was no question that the inner core of Flying Fire Precious Eagle I had swallowed had greatly helped enlarge the spiritual energy within me. Thanks to it, the tiny grain of millet that had represented my power had swollen to nearly twice its former size.
And yet a grain of millet, no matter how much it grew, was still smaller than a single grain of rice.
If I continued to fail to absorb external spiritual energy, then with only this twice-as-large millet grain of spiritual power, there was nothing I could properly accomplish.
Because of the phenomenon in which outside spiritual energy hardened for reasons I could not understand, even now, a full year after I had formed my dharma soul, I still had not properly mastered the first stage of Chaos Heaven Secret Law.
“I’m sorry, Master.”
I answered without daring to lift my head, and my master’s stern scolding followed at once.
“You have the talent to reach the late stage of Qi Refining in ten years, yet your growth is this slow only because you are lazy! From today until the day I return, cut your sleep in half and devote yourself to cultivation!”
His rebuke carried a faint trace of spiritual energy, and my head throbbed in protest.
Still, I did my best not to show it and hurriedly went on. “Master! I’d also like to go to the place called the Heavenly Treasures Assembly! If I can obtain a good spirit medicine there, where all manner of items are traded, I’m sure it would advance my realm! Besides, didn’t I already make full use of all the spiritual energy contained in the Flying Fire Precious Eagle’s inner core?”
If it was difficult to accumulate spiritual energy through ordinary cultivation methods, there was another way as well: consuming spirit medicines, a method that had already been proven possible.
My master knew full well how stifled I felt, and yet even so, he only continued with harsh words after hearing me out.
“Worthless fool! Do you only want the easy road instead of hard training? It’s because you harbor such a weak heart that your realm refuses to rise!”
At those hurtful words, my fists clenched before I even realized it.
Then, as he quietly watched me, my master said something rather unexpected.
“This time, I’ll bring back a decent spirit medicine from the Heavenly Treasures Assembly. But that doesn’t mean I’ll hand it over to you right away. At the very least, you should reach the first star of Qi Refining and prove that the medicine won’t be wasted on some trivial use. If you want that spirit medicine, then until then, cultivate as if you’re tearing out your own bones and coughing up blood.”
It was clear that he had already intended to buy spirit medicine before I even spoke; though he blamed my slow progress out loud, he was unquestionably thinking of me far more than he let on.
“Thank you! Truly, thank you, Master!”
At my grateful expression, his face softened slightly, though his reply remained rather brusque. “Didn’t you hear me say the spirit medicine is only yours once you reach the first star of Qi Refining? If you fail to reach Qi Refining first star, then that spirit medicine will not be yours.”
I quickly said I understood, knowing he was only saying the opposite of what he meant.
He stared at me for a moment longer before continuing. “Last time, you were lucky enough to encounter a weak beast like the Flying Fire Precious Eagle, but among the beasts drawn here by the dragon vein, there are some far stronger than that one. While I’m gone, don’t wander outside and get yourself killed by some wretch like that. Stay here and guard Nine Palaces Tower well.”
“Yes, Master!”
After leaving me with his final instructions, my master truly seemed to have nothing else to say, and at last he departed Nine Palaces Tower in a hurry.
Left alone afterward, I threw myself back into mastering Chaos Heaven Secret Law, just as he had told me.
The first stage, Qi-Opening Soul-Refinement: forge spirit energy into the soul, open it, and let the first light dwell within the body.
Following the incantation I had attempted hundreds of times, I began drawing the surrounding clumps of spiritual energy toward my dharma soul. Because they moved faster than before, they ignited a sliver of hope in me.
But that hope collapsed just as quickly when the swiftly moving clumps of energy slowed, then came to an abrupt stop. It was no different from the hundreds of attempts I had already made.
Still, after being scolded so harshly by my master, I had no intention of giving up so easily this time.
Chae-chaeng!
A sharp metallic cry rang out, as though swords were clashing right beside my ear.
Yet I did not give up on moving the clump of spiritual energy that had grown so heavy it would not budge.
Then an even harsher clang burst forth.
Chae-chae-chaeng!
It was so fierce it seemed as if it might split my skull open.
And yet, because enduring this painful noise was still less agonizing than seeing my master’s disappointed face, I gritted my teeth and held on.
Then, at last, I had the faint sensation that the spiritual energy which had been so heavy and motionless was beginning to move a little.
It’s working!
But at that very moment, as if determined to shatter that hope once more, an immense roar thundered through my entire body.
Chae-cheng~~~~~!!
A sound like the scream of spiritual energy itself.
It was more than merely painful; it struck my body with a real, devastating shock.
Puuuuup!
The sudden spurt of blood from my mouth was proof that I had suffered severe internal injuries.
If my master had been here, he could have cured me easily with a talisman, but now I had no choice but to deal with the injury myself.
So I began circulating my qi and practicing breathing exercises for the first time in a while. Other than martial training, which I had neglected while focusing on cultivation methods, I had no means of treating the internal damage right away.
But strangely enough, as I continued the breathing exercise, a thick stench began to seep into my senses.
At first it was nothing more than the reek of a field manure pit, but before long it had become so foul I could hardly breathe.
Then, the moment I stopped and opened my eyes, the suffocating stench vanished as though it had never existed, and in its place a faint floral fragrance began to drift through the air.
If this had happened while my master was here, I could at least have asked him what was going on. As it was, the situation was bewildering.
In the end, rather than wait blindly for my master, I went back into the breathing exercise to find the answer to this strange phenomenon myself.
Once again, as if waiting for me, the refreshing scent of flowers at my nose gradually turned into a stench. Soon enough, it became a foul odor so vile I could barely breathe.
Still, because I had to find the answer on my own, I forced myself to keep breathing as shallowly as possible to endure the stench, and in the end I did not stop the breathing exercise.
Then suddenly, a stuffy sensation formed in my nose, and before long it spread into my head.
I had never even heard of anything like this happening during breathing exercises meant to heal the body, so naturally I could not understand it. At this point I should have stopped, but at some point I found that I no longer wanted to stop at all.
Maintaining a thin, long breath that seemed ready to snap at any moment, I continued the breathing exercise for hours.
Then, at some point, I felt the stuffy pressure in my nose and head gradually fade away.
It was refreshing, like waking from a long sleep.
And the moment I realized my body had changed dramatically, one word flashed through my mind like lightning.
Soul-binding Art!
Originally, Soul-binding Art was a vicious demonic technique used by only a tiny minority even within the martial world, a terrifying art that let one control others according to one’s will.
But now I realized that my master—no, the immortal being known as Jin Myeong—had clearly used Soul-binding Art on me.
To prevent me from leaving this place.
And to make me obey him....
As I looked back on the year I had spent treating Jin Myeong as my master, I remembered how I had behaved in ways I never would have done otherwise, as though some part of me had become naturally compliant.
Then when, exactly, had he used Soul-binding Art on me?
The truth was, when I first escaped the formation that enveloped Nine Palaces Tower a year ago, I had sensed that something was wrong, yet I still could not bring myself to attack him as he smiled at me.
If that was the case, then it was certain that I had already been ensnared by his Soul-binding Art back then.
But was that truly the first moment I had fallen under it?
Why had I climbed onto the Silver Swallow Plate and followed Jin Myeong?
The excuse that I had feared fighting him because he was stronger than I was, or that I had decided to wait for a better day, was not one that suited me.
When I fought to become the Supreme Heavenly Demon, the leader of the demonic cult, it had actually been harder to find opponents weaker than myself.
I was the one who never avoided a fight for the sake of advancing my rank, even when every battle left me bloodied and, at times, close to death. For me to talk myself into waiting for the right moment had never made sense to begin with.
From the very beginning....
Jin Myeong had undoubtedly used Soul-binding Art on me from the very first moment we met.
Perhaps that sharp surge of energy I had felt when I first saw him was his Soul-binding Art at work.
Gritting my teeth with a sound like grinding bone, I forced my anger toward that bastard to its peak and slowly began to inspect my situation, one thing at a time.
Unfortunately, my martial skill had not improved in the slightest compared to a year ago.
I remained at the level of a first-rate fighter, capable of attempting a single fatal strike if I could catch him at the moment he was off guard.
The problem was that I had not gained any meaningful results from the cultivation methods I had trained at such cost over the past year either. At present, martial skill was the only tool I had that could inflict a deadly blow on Jin Myeong.
He still believed I was trapped by Soul-binding Art, so I would have to exploit that carelessness and strike him down in one blow.
But then another question suddenly occurred to me.
How, exactly, had I broken free of his Soul-binding Art?
The me of the past, who had devoted himself to martial training in order to escape this place, had never broken Jin Myeong’s Soul-binding Art. Even while raising my realm from second-rate to first-rate, I had never found so much as a trace of its influence.
The only thing different now from then was.... whether Jin Myeong was staying here, or somewhere else.
His Soul-binding Art was clearly stronger the closer he was to me. If that was the case, then I would need to prepare so I would not fall under it again when he returned.
After letting him toy with me for a full year, I could not simply flee like a coward.
Unlike before, escape was no longer an option for me.
In the end, all I could do now was prepare as much as possible and then bring him down.
In truth, even if Jin Myeong did nothing but focus on martial training until he returned from the Heavenly Treasures Assembly, it would still be difficult to improve my realm by much.
No matter how quickly the Heaven-Defying Lust Madness Classic gathered energy, a mere few days would not be enough to break out of first-rate territory. Unless I consumed a spirit medicine like the Great Ultimate Yang Brightness Pill, building the inner power necessary for a realm breakthrough would naturally take a long time.
And then, at that moment, my idle gaze drifted toward the staircase leading to the third floor, the area Jin Myeong used.
If I didn’t have anything, then I could simply take what belonged to him!
Of course, I knew he had a spatial magic artifact called a storage pouch, and that he kept all his important things in it, but among the objects he considered unimportant, there might still be something useful to me.
In particular, because he thought of martial cultivators as merely fandd?—no, as no different from ordinary commoners—he might treat spirit medicines used to increase inner power as nothing more than junk.
Once my mind was made up, I moved without hesitation. And finally, the space I had never once been curious about during the year I stayed here appeared before me.
A large table and a bed.
And a formation drawn on the floor.
The formation was painted in dark red blood, and the feeling it gave off was ominous beyond words. It was as if it existed solely to prove once more that Jin Myeong was anything but a virtuous man.
Slowly shaking my head, I immediately began inspecting the table, one of the few pieces of furniture in the room.
There, among the mess of random odds and ends scattered across its surface, I spotted a few shriveled roots that looked like dried weeds. They did not seem to be in very good condition, but I could still faintly sense spiritual energy from them, so they were undoubtedly spirit herbs.
I picked them up and searched for anything else, but unfortunately there was nothing more to be found. With a treasure like a storage pouch in Jin Myeong’s possession, that could not be helped.
Still, something like this was better than nothing, so I tossed one of the shriveled roots into my mouth.
I was certainly not so ignorant that I could fail to tell the difference between the energy of a spirit herb and that of a poisonous herb, so there was no need for me to hesitate over whether to swallow it or not.
But the moment I began chewing the spirit herb slowly in my mouth, it melted away with unexpected softness, despite its withered appearance.
Then, once I swallowed it, it began to reveal its true strength.
The spirit herb that had felt cool and refreshing as it melted in my mouth began to pour out a fierce heat inside my stomach, as if I had swallowed a live coal.
Apparently, this nameless root was a spirit medicine with an intensely yang nature.
The problem was that the Heaven-Defying Lust Madness Classic I was currently circulating was also a martial art that stimulated extreme yang energy.
Yang upon yang layered together, and though it was still bearable when the temple between my ears bulged and subsided as if swelling under the pressure, the sight of my already stiffened manhood swelling as though it might burst at any moment was a rather horrifying experience.
The Heaven-Defying Lust Madness Classic truly was not called a martial art that created lust demons for nothing.
Desire so fierce it was almost unbearable rose inside me, and my heart pounded as though it might explode. Thankfully, there was no one nearby, and that alone made it possible for me to grit my teeth and force down the surging bloodlust as though I were taming a wild stallion.
The mental fortitude that had once lifted me to the seat of supremacy was not so weak as to fail me now.
Fortunately, with a whoosh, a hot breath poured from my nose, and the yang energy I could no longer contain was released outward through that exhalation as well.
Of course, I had only eaten one piece, so I could not say what would happen next.
But that was a problem for later.
And so I spent seven days and seven nights cultivating without rest, consuming every spirit herb I found.
At last, Jin Myeong returned from the Heavenly Treasures Assembly.