The Defier of Heaven (2)
'To think it would be like this—'
Dang Sobaek strained with all his might to control the two energies surging into him like a raging torrent.
The elixir refined by the weasel.
The energy flowing from it was clear and pure, but...
...the energy originating from the core of the Won-myeon-jiju was incomparably violent.
'I must never stop.'
The most crucial point when absorbing spiritual medicines or inner cores was that one had to continuously maintain the circulation of qi until the energy completely dissolved into the body and settled in the dantian.
This was especially true for an inner core harboring such a sinister energy.
Without ceaselessly purifying it through the Microcosmic Orbit along the Conception and Governing Vessels, the energy would invade the upper dantian and drive him mad.
Even amidst the agonizing pain of his meridians tearing apart, Dang Sobaek guided the two energies along the correct path, controlling them with his entire will to keep them from clashing.
Boom—!
Crash!
Thud!
The two energies forced their way forward, violently shattering the blocked meridians he had previously been unable to pierce.
Each time, a pain so intense it made his body shudder flared up, but it was still within tolerable limits.
In his past life, had he not endured far worse pain while cultivating poison arts in a human body?
Physical pain could always be endured through sheer will and perseverance.
The history Dang Sobaek had built over his lifetime was not so fragile as to crumble under a mere trial like this.
However.
There was a far more troublesome issue.
The energy flowing from the Won-myeon-jiju's core repeatedly veered off course, attempting to invade Sobaek's mind.
It felt as though he were thrusting his head into the maw of a wild, ferocious dragon.
A single moment of carelessness, and his mind would be torn to shreds, leaving not even a trace behind.
If there was any saving grace, it was this:
'The energy of the elixir is definitely helping.'
The energy of the elixir crafted by the weasel not only doggedly monitored and suppressed the Won-myeon-jiju's power, but it also aided in repairing the meridians that had been left in tatters by the forced breakthroughs.
Through a cycle of destruction and regeneration, his meridians gradually transformed, becoming tougher and more resilient.
But.
Just as the weasel had feared, the elixir's energy eventually began to wane.
The grade of the elixir was simply too low to withstand the demonic qi the Won-myeon-jiju had accumulated over countless years, along with the deep-seated resentment and obsession melted within it.
The energy derived from the elixir grew increasingly faint before vanishing entirely.
Only now did he truly understand why the weasel had tried so desperately to dissuade him when he declared his intention to absorb the Won-myeon-jiju's core.
Until now, the two energies had blended and harmonized, keeping the danger at bay. But...
'It's cold.'
With only the Won-myeon-jiju's demonic qi—saturated with Yin energy—remaining, a bone-chilling cold swept through his entire body, threatening to freeze him solid.
It was by no means easy to endure.
Nevertheless, Dang Sobaek steeled his resolve and forced the qi to circulate.
If he failed to completely purge the lingering malice within and allowed it to settle in his core, the consequences would be catastrophic.
From the Huiyin to the Baihui.
Starting with the Microcosmic Orbit circulating through the Conception and Governing Vessels...
Boom!
Passing through the Penetrating Vessel, the Belt Vessel, and the Yang Heel Vessel...
Crash!
...and finally to the Yin Heel Vessel, the Yang Link Vessel, and the Yin Link Vessel. As he completely cleared all of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels flowing through his body...
...the resulting heat surged forth, neutralizing most of the Yin energy emanating from the core.
As this process repeated countless times, Dang Sobaek's consciousness gradually sank beneath the surface, entering a state of absolute selflessness.
'How many times has it been?'
He could no longer remember. He had simply repeated the same action over and over again.
Then, at some point...
'This is...'
A hazy illusion seeped into his consciousness.
On a snowfield where a fierce blizzard raged, blood-red flowers bloomed in profusion.
He sharpened his focus to examine it more closely.
'...'
A hideously deformed human-faced spider was tearing through a troop of monkeys, hunting them down.
No, to be more precise, this was not a hunt; it was more akin to breeding.
The bellies of the dead monkeys ruptured, giving birth to more human-faced spiders, which in turn attempted to breed again.
As the cycle repeated, the snowfield was gradually blanketed in pitch-black.
The collective emotions of all the monkeys there flooded into Dang Sobaek.
All sorts of negative emotions—terror, despair, resentment—tried to swallow his consciousness.
'How ridiculous.'
Dang Sobaek was not so weak as to be dominated by the emotions of mere beasts.
Maintaining his unshakeable mind, he focused his thoughts once more.
'So it ends like this?'
The monkeys had abandoned all resistance and were fleeing.
Chasing close behind them was a swarm of human-faced spiders that could only be described as an army.
Their numbers halved as they crossed the mountains, and dwindled further as they crossed the river.
'...I wonder if I should call this cowardly.'
The monkey spiritual beast desperately fled from the spiders, ruthlessly throwing its own subordinates behind as bait.
To Sobaek's eyes, it was clear where the monkey spiritual beast was heading.
'I see. It was trying to reach the temple to beg for help.'
But it was already too late.
Though its obsession with survival bordered on madness...
...there were no longer any decoys left to buy it time.
It was entirely alone.
The monkey spiritual beast, having awakened its spiritual nature, wailed in sheer agony.
"Why! Why are you doing this?! I want to live! I want to live! Why are you so obsessed with me? Why?!"
But the human-faced spider did not answer.
"Kee-reek— kee-ree-reek."
With mechanical precision, it simply lunged at the monkey spiritual beast, driving its stinger deep to lay its eggs.
The true blood of the beasts gathered over time, along with their accumulated resentment, condensed into a single point and seeped into the monkey spiritual beast.
At that moment, the eyes of all the human-faced spiders blanketing the surroundings went dark. Every single one of them wore a satisfied smile.
He thought that was the end of it.
But the monkey, covered in spiders, staggered back to its feet.
"Grrr... I... I will survive. No matter what. I must."
Yet, contrary to its wishes, as time passed, its form collapsed and morphed into something grotesque.
A bizarre spiritual beast born from the collision of two unyielding obsessions.
That was the origin of the Won-myeon-jiju.
The illusion faded once more.
He emerged from his trance.
All the energy that had been circulating through his Eight Extraordinary Vessels seeped into his inner core.
The cracks on the core healed completely, and an incomparably abundant energy swelled within him.
It felt almost ecstatic.
Feeling the perfectly refined energy settled in his core, Dang Sobaek prepared to conclude his meditation.
'What?!'
The lingering malice of the Won-myeon-jiju, which Sobaek thought he had successfully separated and purified, coalesced to form a shape.
Now, he understood.
Having awakened his Divine Sense, he could freely manipulate his consciousness and perceive the soul itself.
That was a mass of pure obsession manifested in spiritual form.
It was nothing more than dregs.
Soon, the fully formed dregs of the Won-myeon-jiju began to invade Dang Sobaek's mind.
"I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die... I want to live, I want to live, I want to live..."
It felt as though his very soul were being torn apart.
The thoughts of the monkey spiritual beast and the human-faced spider fused, their voices echoing ceaselessly in his mind.
Had he mastered a mental cultivation technique, it would be a different story, but currently, Sobaek lacked any proper means to counter this directly.
But it was fine.
He had already read about what to do in such a situation in his past life's texts.
A person's body and soul were a microcosm of the universe.
The life one had lived, the history piled layer upon layer, the emotions held most dear...
...all of these gathered to manifest a world of the mind—a mental landscape.
To completely devour a soul, one had to seize control of this mental landscape.
And within that realm, Dang Sobaek was confident he would never lose to anyone.
Soyo had not moved a single step since Dang Sobaek swallowed the inner core.
'What a reckless fool.'
If Dang Sobaek failed to overcome the spider's malice and was consumed by it, Soyo intended to end the chick's life with his own hands.
As time passed, Soyo grew increasingly anxious. Sobaek's blood vessels bulged and receded in real-time, and an indescribably foul odor and energy seeped from his body.
'Is he... being consumed?'
Thinking objectively, even Soyo himself would find it impossible to control the malice residing within the Won-myeon-jiju's core.
It was a span of over two hundred years. The madness and obsession accumulated over such a vast period were beyond measure.
Even the human-faced spider itself could barely maintain its sanity due to the grudges of the beasts it absorbed with each resurrection.
For a young Jimjo who had lived less than ten years to endure such a thing was utterly absurd.
'I am... hesitating too much.'
Soyo gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth at his fingertips, only to disperse it again.
Though Sobaek was on a knife's edge, he still seemed to be holding on.
'Have I always been this soft?'
Just a few years ago, he wouldn't have hesitated like this. At the slightest sign of corruption, he would have acted decisively.
No, even before that, he would have seized the core and sealed it away.
After all, the death of a single young Jimjo changed nothing.
There was a reason Soyo had taken it upon himself to act as a master and teach the Jimjos.
He wanted to leave this island, travel the world, and live the life of a human—something he had yearned for his entire life.
There were two main ways to achieve this: prove his worth to the master of the island and use the Gate, or tear open a portion of the barrier himself and escape.
The first was close to impossible, as he had never seen a single precedent in all his years.
In the end, he had to choose the second method, but that was impossible to achieve alone. He needed help.
Such were the hidden motives behind Soyo's benevolence. Of course, he had yet to decide what he would do once the goal was accomplished.
Spiritual beasts grew stronger by preying on other spiritual beasts. Soyo was no exception to this rule. He was bound by the law of the jungle.
'But...'
Now, he wasn't so sure.
It was true that he was using Jim-il and Jim-i for his own ends. But if that was the case, Dang Sobaek was unnecessary.
The chick's comprehension was undeniably brilliant. It rivaled anyone's, including his own.
But what use was a creature without even a spiritual root? He was nothing but baggage.
'Was I simply lonely?'
Had he ever met another spiritual beast capable of proper conversation, one who could truly understand another's mind?
No. Absolutely not.
'...I do not even know my own mind.'
Seven more days and nights passed.
Sobaek remained exactly as he had been at the start. Neither his posture nor his expression wavered.
It was a terrifying display of mental fortitude. There was no other way to describe it.
It was about time for him to wake. Just what was happening inside him?
Whoosh—
Then, at some point, a change began to occur. The pitch-black energy drifting from Dang Sobaek coalesced into a single point, forming a shape.
The Won-myeon-jiju.
Was that sinister, hideous creature finally clawing its way back to life?
Soyo immediately prepared a spell to counter it, but the energy—which could only be described as pure malice—instantly plunged back into Dang Sobaek's body.
'Before it's too late...'
He had to end this.
An energy carrying wind and lightning gathered and crackled at his fingertips.
It was a level of spiritual power capable of vaporizing a defenseless Dang Sobaek without leaving a trace.
Crackle—!
"Phew..."
But in the end, he lowered his hand.
For Sobaek's expression had still not changed. Despite the presence of an energy so dreadful it made even Soyo shudder, the chick was astonishingly serene.
No, rather...
'Is he smiling?'
He wore a confident smile.
'Not yet... It is not time yet.'
Perhaps... he could watch a little longer.
Dang Sobaek opened his eyes once more.
It was a familiar space.
Buildings exuding a quiet, elegant charm; liverleaf flowers blooming beside the training grounds; a musty yet familiar scent of poison.
These were things he had seen and felt every single day.
"Ah..."
He immediately realized that this was his mental landscape.
Yet, even so, he could not help but be deeply moved.
For the ground he now stood upon... was the place where Dang Sobaek had been born and raised. The Sichuan Tang Clan.