Chapter 182: The Cultivation Method of the Demonic Art (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 182: The Cultivation Method of the Demonic Art (2)
Nestled within a dense forest, a pavilion stood with quiet elegance.
Beside it, a stream trickled down from a mountain valley, its rhythmic splashing the only sound in the stillness. In the sky, clouds drifted lazily, looking as though an immortal might step out from behind them at any moment.
The lush forest, the crystal-clear spring water, the ancient rocks weathered by eons of erosion, and the vibrant blooming flowers all vied for attention. However, the old men sitting within the pavilion paid no mind to the breathtaking scenery.
"I fear this is as far as we can go."
Won Hyo-ja spoke with great difficulty.
He had always looked aged due to the liver spots marking his skin, but over the past week, he seemed to have aged another ten years. The deaths of his disciples—young men who were like his own flesh and blood—were gnawing at him from the inside out.
"If we continue like this, we will end up annihilating our entire first generation of disciples. Five fell today alone. Two lost their lives, and though we managed to save the other three... they are destined to spend the rest of their days bedridden."
"Sigh... and we thought we had prepared so thoroughly."
Someone let out a heavy, ragged sigh.
Indeed, the Diancang Sect had not pushed forward recklessly.
First, they had screened for strength of will. No matter how great one's talent, if fear broke their motivation, success was impossible. Therefore, they only selected disciples who volunteered even after being warned that the technique was the Demonic Energy Absorption Art.
Next was the Heart Protection Scripture.
The more advanced a martial art, the more it required the heart and will to resonate with the qi, rather than simple energy circulation. Since they were stepping into the realm of a dangerous demonic art, the disciples were made to memorize and practice the Heart Protection Scripture of Diancang—a secret originally only passed down to the Sect Leader’s direct disciples.
Added to this was the Violet Mist Divine Art provided by Go Ju-gang, the Leader of the Martial Alliance.
Although the internal energy of Diancang and Mount Hua differed, a few formulas from the Violet Mist Divine Art had proven to be of great help—albeit incomplete—while crossing the absolute precipice that was a demonic art.
Thanks to such thorough preparation, ninety percent of the disciples had managed to pass the initial stage of the Demonic Energy Absorption Art. While there were casualties of less than ten percent, that much had been considered an acceptable sacrifice.
The problem arose during the intermediate stage, immediately following the initial breakthrough.
From the very first day, more than half were unable to control the energy they had absorbed. Some suffered severe Qi Deviation, and several died before the elders could even intervene.
It was a gruesome sight—heart meridians ruptured, blood gushing from their seven orifices.
Once the death toll exceeded ten, the elders could no longer stand by. They petitioned the Sect Leader to reconsider.
"Hmm. Sect Leader. Did we not already foresee that sacrifices would be necessary? Please, steel your heart."
As Go Ju-gang consoled the agonizing Won Hyo-ja...
"Alliance Leader. This martial art is not something a human can learn in the first place."
Someone sharply cut him off.
It was the First Elder, Won Jung, the junior martial brother of the Diancang Sect Leader.
"Even medicine can end a life if used in excess. This cultivation method is not medicine; it is poison. It does not draw upon the power of nature; instead, it transforms energy into violent Yang and Yin Qi and makes them explode within the blood vessels! This is the very definition of Qi Deviation. Controlling such a thing is impossible from the start!"
"Hmph."
The Alliance Leader groaned and looked around.
There was Won Seong, who had been the first to witness a disciple's death. There was Won Hyo-ja, whose face had become gaunt from the mental toll despite his initial enthusiasm. And then there was the First Elder, who had watched countless disciples die while biting his tongue until now; his expression went beyond mere anger—it was filled with murderous intent.
"First Elder. Sect Leader of Diancang."
Go Ju-gang poked at their weakened pride once more.
"Are you saying that Diancang ultimately cannot achieve what Qingcheng has done?"
"Now see here, Alliance Leader!"
"If you feel that way, then I shall show you a path to control that Qi Deviation. Here..."
Flip.
Just as the First Elder was about to retort, Go Ju-gang placed a thick scroll on the floor.
Roll...
It was a meticulously drawn map of the human body and its meridians. It contained methods of operation written with various symbols and cryptic formulas.
In an instant, the expressions of Won Hyo-ja and Won Jung shifted to doubt. Their eyes, along with Won Seong’s, were reflexively drawn to the scroll.
"..."
Won Hyo-ja’s eyes widened as he read the text. His expression shifted by the second.
Snap. Snap.
With every new section he unfurled, his shock became more apparent. It was a feeling closer to ecstasy than mere surprise.
Slide.
Eventually, after Won Hyo-ja had read everything, he passed the scroll to the side.
"Hmm."
Won Seong took it and began to read.
A long silence followed. Won Hyo-ja closed his eyes tightly, while Won Seong’s gaze flickered with a mix of strange, conflicting emotions.
Rustle.
Finally, Won Jung, who had carefully read every single character, looked up.
"Alliance Leader. Speak honestly. Where did you obtain this?"
Go Ju-gang read the look in Won Jung’s eyes. Greed and resentment. Amidst those complex emotions, a clear sense of wariness stood out.
"...Is it necessary for you to know?"
"If we don't? Our sect is devoting its very soul to this task, throwing away the lives of our disciples. Yet... this is truly strange. This cultivation method even covers the path we have already traversed."
"Indeed. The scope is vast, and the depth is profound. Furthermore, this scroll..."
Tap, tap.
Won Seong tapped the old, thick scroll.
"Setting aside the depth of the content, the scroll itself is unusual. It bears the marks of countless experiments and a vast amount of time. Where on earth did you get this?"
"Hmm."
Go Ju-gang stroked his beard. His hesitation was staged. He had fully anticipated this reaction before handing it over.
A secret manual that dissected the Demonic Energy Absorption Art so extensively and meticulously—its sudden appearance was bound to be suspicious.
"Sigh... I was trying not to speak of it out of respect for your sect's honor."
"What kind of sophistry is that?"
As Won Seong flared up in anger, Go Ju-gang looked him straight in the eye and spoke.
"Because this belongs to Qingcheng."
"...!"
"What?"
"What did you say!"
Won Jung, Won Seong, and Won Hyo-ja were all struck with shock. Go Ju-gang waved his hand to signal them to calm down and coolly wove his lie.
"To be precise, it belongs to the lineage of the Azure Cloud Taoist. It is what they completed over dozens of generations, dying in the process of its refinement."
"How could that..."
"That makes no sense! Qingcheng, the ones who brought shame upon our sect! You're telling Diancang to learn the secret techniques of those bastards?"
"Even if that were true, it's preposterous! No matter if you are the Alliance Leader, how could you have extracted the ultimate secret of the Qingcheng sword-ghosts?"
As the three questioned him in shock, Go Ju-gang narrowed his eyes slightly.
"There is such a thing as an expelled disciple, is there not?"
This was likely the most important moment of his life. Go Ju-gang continued slowly, tapping the scroll.
"This scroll... as you can guess from the material, this content wasn't created overnight. It was achieved slowly, through long periods of time and research."
From this point on, half of what he said was a lie, and half was the truth. He had been waiting for the right timing—a desperate moment when the Diancang elders' patience had run out, making them unable to discern the truth.
"Every sect has them, and Qingcheng also has its share of expelled disciples. Those whose conduct was unsatisfactory or who tarnished the sect's reputation. Well... I suppose I can't say Diancang is without such people either?"
"Ugh."
"Ahem."
The Diancang elders flushed at the sudden jab. Go Ju-gang gave a small, cold smile and continued.
"The Martial Alliance had been in contact with such expelled disciples for some time, and we were able to receive this description from one of them. Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps it was poetic justice. He was of the Azure Cloud Taoist lineage of Qingcheng."
The words that followed were a meticulously constructed lie. In reality, there were indeed disciples in Qingcheng who had their martial arts stripped and were expelled.
"Poetic justice... what do you mean by that?" Won Jung asked.
"As you all know, Qingcheng once enjoyed great fame. They even produced masters among the Ten Great Masters of the world. How do you think that was possible?"
"..."
"It was because they had the Azure Cloud Taoist, an institution that researched and mastered the secret techniques and qigong of other sects from the beginning. And they weren't particularly picky about only using Orthodox martial arts. As long as it was powerful and domineering, they sought out everything—unorthodox arts, the arts of the Evil Faction, and even the legacies of the Demonic Cult."
This part of Go Ju-gang’s statement was true. In fact, when the Azure Cloud Taoist lineage was at its peak, their greed was unparalleled. They collected and researched any powerful martial art, regardless of whether it was Orthodox or Heretical.
"In the process, they tried to improve the Demonic Energy Absorption Art and make it their own unique martial art. However, the method was so atrocious that one of the disciples harbored resentment and defected. As you can see..."
Point.
Go Ju-gang pointed to a section of the scroll and continued.
"The method of extracting the Baek from a dead body and converting it into internal energy. It is truly a barbaric act that would outrage both heaven and man."
Slide.
The eyes of all the Diancang elders returned to the scroll. Mysterious patterns and meridian charts they had never seen before lay before them. Yet, the meaning felt strangely familiar. It was because this was the source of the martial art they had been racking their brains to research.
Among the details, the one that caught their eye the most was the method of suppressing demonic qi. It was the method of controlling demonic qi by using True Origin Energy, the very source of life.
"Then..."
"Furthermore, there is the method where the practitioner shatters their own vessel of life to regulate the demonic qi. Though there aren't many samples, you can calculate it as losing ten years of life for every sixty years—one Gapja—of internal energy gained."
In other words, it was a martial art that made one powerful but ensured a certain death upon mastery. This, too, was not a lie. Go Ju-gang had simply swapped the owner of the letter to the Azure Cloud Taoist lineage.
"Can we summon him to verify this?"
"Regrettably, that is impossible. He passed away and became a handful of dust long ago."
"Mmm..."
Won Hyo-ja’s face hardened solemnly. Go Ju-gang added one more thing.
"I think I know what you are thinking. That is the very reason why I, as the Alliance Leader, did not move against Qingcheng even with this evidence. An expelled disciple might frame their former sect with absurd accusations. Furthermore, not everything he said might be true."
"..."
"But that is why I decided to think in reverse. What kind of martial art exists in this world that would allow someone to face three elders of a major sect alone, even if they had been learning internal energy since they were in their mother's womb? If such a thing exists, what could that martial art possibly be?"
"..."
"This is the reason why I have kept my mouth shut until now."
Following Go Ju-gang’s words, the group fell into a heavy silence. To strike Qingcheng by following Qingcheng’s own training methods... in a way, it was a truly humiliating situation. It was an admission that the great Diancang Sect ultimately could not keep up with the training and research of mere sword-ghosts.
"However, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. How can one be called a gentleman if they cannot repay what they have received? Since they were the ones who first broke the rules, I believe this is simply their own karma coming back to haunt them."
"Have you verified this?"
Won Hyo-ja asked with venomous eyes. Beside him, Won Jung felt a chill run down his spine.
From the beginning, the Sect Leader’s head had been filled with nothing but revenge against Qingcheng. And every time a first-generation disciple died while practicing this dangerous qigong, the Sect Leader of Diancang lost his usual clarity and grew increasingly resentful.
Now, a chilling madness glinted in Won Hyo-ja’s eyes.
"How could I? Every single part of it is incredibly dangerous and inhumane. Above all, no matter how strong a martial art is, it deviates from the human path."
"...Does that mean you don't care whether the Diancang Sect deviates from the human path or not?"
"I hope you don't take my words that way, True Person. As the Alliance Leader, how could my heart not ache seeing young men die every day?"
Ahem!
Go Ju-gang cleared his throat and intentionally put on a face full of guilt.
"Each of them is a great pillar of the future. That is why I am trying to take responsibility as the one who brought this matter forward in the first place. As of now, I see no other way."
"..."
"If this had happened in my own sect, Mount Hua... I would have done it. The very survival of the sect is at stake. There is nothing left to lose, is there? Therefore... the choice is yours."
"Ugh."
Won Seong and Won Jung groaned.
Was it because they were cornered? Go Ju-gang’s subtle words made them feel as though they were sinking deeper into a quagmire from which they could not escape. Already, setting aside whether the situation was right or wrong...
"Absorbing the internal energy of the dead... is such a thing truly possible?"
They were only weighing whether it was feasible or not.
"We can only estimate the possibility based on the results. Is that boy Seok Myeong of Qingcheng some kind of Dharma of Shaolin or Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang? I believe Seok Myeong reached such a realm because this was possible."
"...Mmm."
Those words were the clincher. Won Hyo-ja bit his lip until it bled and made his decision.
"Let us do it."
"Sect Leader!"
At Won Hyo-ja’s words, Won Jung’s eyes flew open.
"I assume the bodies of the dead children have been prepared for burial?"
"Are you truly going to do this!"
The method was bizarre, but more importantly, was this not an act that an Orthodox sect could never commit? In truth, Won Jung had been vehemently opposed since the moment they first decided to learn the Demonic Energy Absorption Art.
Had it not been for the humiliating defeat the three elders suffered at the hands of a first-generation disciple of Qingcheng, he would never have agreed. How would they handle the aftermath if word of this got out?
"First Elder, please maintain a watertight guard around the Diancang Sect. Ensure that no outsiders can enter. If there is an important guest, tell them to report directly to me."
"...Must you really do this?"
"We have already come too far. There is no path back."
Rustle.
The Sect Leader stood up, clutching the scroll. Go Ju-gang also rose from his seat to follow him. As the two walked away, Won Jung’s gaze narrowed.
"Just how did Diancang end up like this..."
His sorrowful sigh lingered in the air for a long time.
"How did our Diancang fall to such a state..."