A Sister's Resolve
Crossing the courtyard of the Patriarch's Pavilion, the filial son Tang Hwi recalled the conversation he had just shared.
Now, I only have to convince Mother.
Tang Sua had accepted his proposal for now. From her perspective, she was in no position to refuse, so her compliance was only natural. Now that he had become the Young Patriarch, she couldn't rule out the possibility of him harboring a grudge and seeking revenge. To curry even a sliver of favor with him, Tang Sua had readily agreed to his request.
Besides, Aunt Sua needs the Ice Crystal to fulfill her ultimate ambition with the Jiangshi Art anyway, so she would have had to go regardless. She has absolutely no reason to refuse.
The real issue was whether Tang Suryeon would allow him to travel to the North Sea. Even if he wasn't the Patriarch, the Young Patriarch journeying to such a distant, foreign land was inherently a risky endeavor for the clan. While Tang Sua, as the Head of the Dark Poison Pavilion, also held a vital position, she had to be sent because obtaining the Ice Crystal was essential for the secret legacy of the Jiangshi Art she had inherited. In contrast, although Tang Hwi claimed he needed the Ice Crystal to modify and complete his new martial art, it wasn't strictly an absolute necessity.
Well... since I plan to depart after the Yongbong Jihoe anyway, it shouldn't be much of a problem.
He could simply take his time persuading her while their bodies were intimately entwined. Tang Hwi casually reached this conclusion.
Just then, sensing a familiar wave of energy erupting from the direction of the training grounds, Tang Hwi redirected his steps. The energy signature he felt belonged to the early stage of the Super-Peak Realm. Detecting a distinct trace of toxicity within it, Tang Hwi suspected it belonged to Tang Ga-hui.
Ordinarily, he would have ignored it and headed straight to the Patriarch's office to coax Tang Suryeon into granting him permission to go to the North Sea. It was always best to secure such approvals well in advance. However, feeling the nature of this energy wave, he couldn't simply pass it by. As if to prove his point—
"Mother. You're here?"
"Yes, Hwi. It seems you felt it too."
"With the energy fluctuating so violently, how could I not come check? I can't just stand by when Sister might be in danger."
Tang Suryeon had also rushed to the training grounds in a single breath. Both of them had detected the energy wave, which they presumed to be Tang Ga-hui's, and hurried over. Had it been a simple release of energy, they might not have worried. But for the energy to fluctuate so erratically while displaying a force rarely seen even in the early Super-Peak Realm meant she was recklessly hammering against the barrier of her current realm.
Because she was pushing against the wall, she was unleashing an internal power she normally couldn't muster. However, a single slip could trigger a severe Qi Deviation, aggravating her internal injuries and leading to a fatal outcome. Having already suffered a bitter lesson once before with the Poison Butterfly Divine Art, Tang Ga-hui's decision to make such a reckless attempt again was incomprehensible to both mother and son. Yet, knowing that she could suffer irreversible damage if they didn't intervene quickly, the two accelerated their pace.
Upon arriving at the training grounds, they found Tang Ga-hui sitting cross-legged, circulating her energy using the Green Lotus Mind Method.
"That is... it seems she has consumed the Thousand Poison Pill. She is trying to bridge the gap in her comprehension using the power of an elixir to break through to the next realm."
"If one lacks understanding of martial arts, it would be a terrible move. But for someone like Sister, who possesses a deep comprehension of martial principles, it could be the best option, even if it is a shortcut. Still, I don't understand why she is attempting this with the Green Lotus Mind Method instead of a divine art."
Breaking through realms using elixirs was actually a widely known method in the Jianghu. Since it could partially compensate for a lack of enlightenment, many martial artists utilized them to shatter their bottlenecks. However, such a feat was only possible with renowned elixirs like the Shaolin's Lesser Restoration Pill or the Wudang's Taiji Pill. Attempting to substitute enlightenment with some obscure, nameless medicine would more likely result in Qi Deviation, leaving the practitioner crippled for the rest of their life.
Of course, the backlash was expected to be far less severe than her previous failure when she had recklessly tried to master the Poison Butterfly Divine Art.
"Still, her attempt isn't entirely groundless," Tang Suryeon remarked. "The Thousand Extreme Pill is likely the only elixir currently within Ga-hui's reach that can substitute for enlightenment."
The Thousand Extreme Pill was a deadly poison crafted from a thousand different toxic substances. It was unique among the Seven Poisons of the Tang Clan, classified as both a miraculous elixir and a lethal toxin. For Tang Ga-hui, who possessed the pure bloodline of the direct lineage, this precious treasure of the Seven Poisons served as a supreme elixir. Nevertheless, the reason it was still feared as one of the Seven Poisons was that it remained a deadly toxin capable of endangering even direct descendants. For outsiders, no matter what they did, it would never become an elixir; it was simply a fatal poison.
"Let us guard her first," Tang Suryeon said.
"Yes, Mother."
With Tang Ga-hui at the center, the mother and son took their positions on her left and right to act as her protectors. Shielded by the luxurious guard of a master peering into the Transcendental Realm and another who had already reached its mid-stage, Tang Ga-hui focused entirely on controlling the wild, surging true qi within her.
I must digest it. I have to make this surging energy permeate every corner of my body, claiming it all as my own with minimal waste.
In the past, she had possessed a single Thousand Poison Pill, but she hadn't consumed it because simply mastering the Poison Butterfly Divine Art had been overwhelming enough. After the aftermath of her Qi Deviation left an indelible scar on her face, she had grown sick of poisons and kept the pill locked away in a chest. Yet, she had finally swallowed it today. If she remained as she was, she wouldn't even be able to follow in Tang Hwi's footsteps.
Rumors of Tang Hwi recently reaching the late Master Realm had not spread. The rumors merely stated that he had attained the Master Realm, and the world assumed he was at its early stage. And naturally so—who would believe that a young man who had barely passed his coming-of-age ceremony was already in the late Master Realm, knocking on the door of an absolute master? Even the early Master Realm was a monstrous domain practically impossible for someone his age to achieve. Tang Ga-hui refused to be a burden to a younger brother blessed with such monstrous talent.
I don't want to hold back the man—my brother—whom I love.
Her desire as a woman not to hinder her husband's path solidified her resolve. It gave her the courage to finally consume the Thousand Poison Pill, an act she had postponed for so long.
True to its reputation as one of the Seven Poisons of the Tang Clan, the Thousand Poison Pill was incomparably vicious. Initially, like any other elixir, it dissolved the moment she swallowed it, transforming into true qi and spreading throughout her body. As it dispersed, it thrashed wildly, attempting to run rampant—a behavior typical of most elixirs. However, she quickly realized that this similarity was a cruel illusion.
It hurts...! I-I feel like I'm going to die...!
The true qi of the Thousand Poison Pill began tearing through her meridians. As if mocking the gentle circulation of the Green Lotus Mind Method, it rampaged violently, destroying her insides. Its nature was as wild and untamed as an unbridled stallion. Indeed, it was a poison worthy of the name of the Seven Poisons of the Tang Clan. Had she not prepared herself thoroughly before consuming it, even she might have been reduced to a mere puddle of blood.
It would have been fatal had she not taken a neutralizing medicine beforehand—a remedy designed to act like a sacrificial doll, absorbing the toxic energy to ease the digestion process. But if such a medicine were foolproof, the Thousand Poison Pill wouldn't be feared as a deadly poison.
The medicine's protective effect is fading rapidly. I must make the energy of the Thousand Poison Pill mine before it completely dissolves!
Though the pain was agonizing enough to make her crave death, she suffered no critical physical damage. But was this pain truly more agonizing than the past two years she had spent living with a scarred face? Recalling the insults and humiliation she had endured both internally and externally over those two years, Tang Ga-hui steeled her resolve with venomous determination. True to her blood as a daughter of the Tang Clan—who repaid any grudge tenfold—she hardened her heart and circulated the Green Lotus Mind Method.
The Green Lotus Mind Method was an internal cultivation technique designed to build energy with properties similar to poison, but strictly speaking, it was not a poison art. Nevertheless, Tang Ga-hui strained to harness the energy of the Thousand Poison Pill using this very method. After all, the Green Lotus Mind Method was the cultivation technique she was most confident in. She had long since abandoned any hope of learning a divine-tier poison art. Having experienced the Poison Butterfly Divine Art once, she had painfully realized she lacked the genius required for it.
She knew she could master a reasonably advanced poison art, even if it wasn't a divine art. She possessed that level of talent. But a divine-tier art was beyond her reach. Rather than learning something halfway, she decided to forge a new path. It might have been different if she had chosen a completely contrasting path like Tang Suryeon's swordplay, but poison was what she had lived with her entire life.
The energy itself doesn't have to become poison. I just need to control the poison.
Her internal energy was not transforming into poison. Instead, she was using her internal energy to control the poison. Strictly speaking, it was not a poison art, but a Poison Control Art.
And then—
Wuuuung.
Though she was unaware, the harmony of Yin and Yang within her lower dantian began to resonate with her efforts. The internal energy infused with Tang Hwi's Yin-Yang Semen, which had previously helped Tang Ga-hui confront and shatter the barrier of the Super-Peak Realm, began to exert its power once more.
She fashioned a vessel out of the internal energy of the Green Lotus Mind Method. The energy, which had been refined within her dantian to mimic the properties of poison, began to act as a container, sealing the lethal poison of the Thousand Poison Pill within itself. Not a poison art, but a Poison Control Art. By forging this entirely new path, Tang Ga-hui successfully ascended to the mid-stage of the Super-Peak Realm.
Meanwhile, watching his sister, Tang Hwi let out a bitter smile.
What an incredibly enviable talent. If the talent in my first life had been even half of that, I might not have had to endure such sorrowful experiences. ...Do I still harbor lingering regrets? I need to control myself.
Shaking off the nightmares of his past, Tang Hwi turned his gaze to Tang Suryeon beside him. As a mother, she was beaming with pride at Tang Ga-hui's growth. Tang Hwi was the anomaly here; Tang Ga-hui reaching the mid-stage of the Super-Peak Realm at the mere age of twenty-three was an absurdly brilliant display of talent. How could any mother not feel immense pride?
"Mother."
"Yes, my son. What is it?"
"Now that Sister has reached the mid-stage of the Super-Peak Realm... holding a grand banquet might be a bit much, but why don't we go on a small family outing to celebrate quietly among ourselves?"
"An outing? Hmm. Let's do that."
Though it was an unexpected proposal, Tang Suryeon saw nothing strange in it and readily agreed.