Chapter 576
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 576
Chapter Title: It's Touch and Go
"Perhaps it'd be better if you just passed out."
Ha Mu-baek said it with a grave look on his face after a moment's thought.
But no.
The pain that surpassed all limits wouldn't even allow him that mercy.
He might black out for a bit, but the unrelenting agony would drag him right back to consciousness.
"Here we go."
With those curt words, Ha Mu-baek pressed his palm against the Ming Gate acupoint on Kwanpo's midriff.
The first step was to extract the demonic energy of the Underworld Demon Kill that had seeped into Kwanpo's dantian.
This was different from the turbid qi of the aphrodisiac poison, so it had to be ripped out all at once.
If he took his time sealing it off bit by bit, that damned demonic energy would just grow back stronger.
Ha Mu-baek's energy surged in like a raging torrent.
It raced through Kwanpo's now-cleansed meridians, heading straight for his dantian.
Kwanpo wanted to squeeze his eyes shut at the sensation, but with his acupoints sealed, he couldn't even do that.
He couldn't swallow the dry lump in his throat, either.
He could feel every bit of Ha Mu-baek's energy coursing through his meridians.
'This... it's almost...'
That instant.
Kuuaaaaang!
A massive shock hit like his dantian was exploding, and Kwanpo felt a thunderous roar echo in his head as if it had detonated inside his body.
And then.
'Kuh... kuuaaaaaack!!!'
Just as Ha Mu-baek had warned, a pain worse than death came crashing down.
It felt like his dantian was being shredded to pieces.
This was hellish agony beyond comparison to what he'd felt when the Demonic Cult's ambush had wrecked his dantian.
It was as if someone was ripping into his finished dantian with something as thin as a strand of hair.
This was the torment that came with the demonic energy being torn from his dantian and disintegrating, though Kwanpo couldn't grasp that fact in the moment.
You had to experience the sensation of being carved and hacked at with a knife to understand it.
He even thought it might be better to do nothing and just live like that.
Keep the seal his master had placed on his dantian and live a normal life without pushing his martial arts too hard.
Sure, there'd be pain from the dantian, but compared to this nightmare, it was something he could easily endure.
No, he could even accept it as proof that he was still alive.
'Keueueuehk...'
Kwanpo couldn't even move his eyeballs at will.
His gaze slowly lost focus.
He'd passed out.
Just as Ha Mu-baek had said, losing consciousness was the better option—and that's exactly what happened.
However.
Even more energy raced through his meridians toward the dantian and slammed into it.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwang!!!!
Another explosion rocked him.
His eyes snapped back into focus.
'Kiiiiiiaaaaaaaaack!!!!!'
Of course, the pain had grown even more immense.
He'd thought this was the worst it could get, but it could get worse.
If this dragged on just a little longer...
Even if his dantian recovered, his mind might shatter.
Would he even be sane once the treatment was done?
He felt like he'd end up a raving lunatic.
Ha Mu-baek impassively gazed at Kwanpo's back as he poured in and directed his energy.
'It's touch and go.'
Ha Mu-baek could clearly sense Kwanpo's condition.
As expected, the superhuman pain had thrown his mind into extreme instability.
Passing out would be preferable, but Ha Mu-baek knew better.
In agony like this, even unconsciousness was out of reach.
He could seal the blood flow or pulse points, but the demonic and vital acupoints were already locked.
Adding more seals risked disrupting the energy flow.
Restoring a dantian damaged by the Gloomy Underworld King's Underworld Demon Kill was no easy task, even for Ha Mu-baek.
Just two years ago, for instance.
Kwanpo, being from the Dali Pavilion Clan that practiced the Great Power White Heron Art, had managed some healing back then, but perfect recovery would have been impossible.
In truth, meeting Ha Mu-baek now was Kwanpo's stroke of luck.
It wasn't a walk in the park for Ha Mu-baek these days, but it required focus, and full recovery was within reach.
Ha Mu-baek channeled another thread of energy.
This soft, warm strand slowly traveled up Kwanpo's meridians toward his head.
It was to keep his mind from crumbling.
The energy of the Infinite Freedom enveloped Kwanpo's head gently.
'Kuuuuaaaa... Huh...?'
Kwanpo sensed the change.
That excruciating pain had eased—just a tiny bit.
More than that, his mind, which had felt on the verge of collapse, found a sliver of peace.
'Hm.'
Ha Mu-baek peered into Kwanpo's internals with his Infinite Bright Wheel Eye.
'Still some left.'
The demonic energy of the Underworld Demon Kill that had ravaged his dantian.
It lingered.
Even after two strikes, it hadn't been fully uprooted.
'Time's been kind to it.'
This was different from Ha Mu-baek's case.
He'd been hit by the Underworld Demon Kill not long before and had ripped out the demonic art from his own dantian, restoring it fully.
But Kwanpo had endured for years in that state.
Plenty of time for the demonic energy to burrow deep.
He should have died from it long ago, but his master's intervention had kept him alive—and let the demon root itself even deeper over those years.
The difficulty was several times greater than when Ha Mu-baek had healed himself.
If it had been the Ha Mu-baek of back then, that is.
Things were different now.
His realm had advanced several stages since.
For the current Ha Mu-baek, it was just a matter of focus—nothing he couldn't handle.
Once more, his energy surged like a torrent and hammered Kwanpo's dantian.
Kuuaaaaaaaaang!
The explosion thundered in his mind.
Kwanpo felt his consciousness flying off into the void amid the brutal pain, but the warm energy cradling his head let him barely hold on.
Thus, Ha Mu-baek cleanly eradicated the Underworld Demon Kill energy from Kwanpo's dantian.
The next part was crucial.
Normally, the dantian would scatter along the rips left by the Underworld Demon Kill.
But Kwanpo's didn't.
Thanks to the seal of the Great Power White Heron Art his master had set.
And since Kwanpo cultivated the Great Power White Heron Art himself, the two energies would interact harmoniously, letting him wield first-rate master level power without issue.
That was why Ha Mu-baek two years ago had managed an imperfect heal.
The seal from the Great Power White Heron Art, plus cultivating it himself.
That made it possible.
Specifically, the torn dantian holding its shape instead of dispersing.
The Ha Mu-baek of two years ago had no way to hold together someone else's crumbling dantian.
His own, yes—but not another's.
So if he'd met Kwanpo back then, this would have been the end of the treatment.
'I said I'd heal him.'
But Ha Mu-baek wasn't satisfied with that.
He pushed internal energy into Kwanpo's dantian.
Not just Infinite Freedom energy, but Radiant energy too.
The three energies harmonized, slipping into the tears of Kwanpo's shredded dantian and shining brightly.
At that moment.
Finally, Kwanpo felt the pain subside.
His dantian slowly knitting itself back together.
How shocked he'd been to learn the Infinite Freedom Heart Method could heal a dantian.
He hadn't understood why back then, but now he did.
'It's the primordial energy.'
When he'd been struck by the Underworld Demon Kill.
To protect his squad from harm, steeling himself to die if he failed, he'd plunged into his dantian and clashed full-force with the demonic energy tearing it apart—and discovered that fact.
But that ability only worked on himself.
It was useless on others.
Well, it had some effect, but minuscule.
The healing speed was far too slow compared to the destruction, so he'd ultimately failed.
Now that he understood what primordial energy truly was, things were different.
He could heal others' dantians too, just like this.
And at an incomparable speed.
Especially since Kwanpo's dantian had held its form.
Ha Mu-baek implanted the energy in Kwanpo's dantian and withdrew his palm.
Restoring a destroyed dantian couldn't happen in an instant.
Ha Mu-baek had carefully assessed and left just enough energy for full recovery.
'About three months, roughly.'
That much time, and it'd be complete.
Ha Mu-baek also withdrew the energy guarding Kwanpo's mind.
He released the vital and demonic acupoints.
"Uh, uhh..."
Kwanpo jolted in surprise at hearing his own voice.
But his body looked utterly drained of strength.
"Good work. Rest now."
Ha Mu-baek flicked a Finger Wind to seal Kwanpo's sleep acupoint.
Kwanpo collapsed limply, out cold.
Two hours had already passed.
Half of that—one full hour—spent purging the demonic energy.
Kwanpo had endured that hellish pain for a solid hour.
No wonder he was exhausted beyond measure.
Ha Mu-baek levitated Kwanpo into the air with Void Grasp.
Then headed south.
By the time eyes might spot them, he had Kwanpo slung over his shoulder and returned to the inn, tossing him onto the bed in his room.
After a late lunch, the Gong siblings were waiting for Ha Mu-baek.
"Let's go."
He took the two kids into the woods.
Lessons continued on the Three Talents Sword Method and Three Talents Heart Method.
The pair devoured his teachings like fiends.
'Not bad at all.'
In this short time, their brilliant talent and sweat had built a solid foundation for self-cultivation in both.
"Now for fist and footwork methods."
Ha Mu-baek went ahead and taught them the Three Talents Fist Method and Three Talents Step Method too.
Shield arts could wait a bit longer.
Thus, a day passed.
Early dawn.
Before the sun had risen.
Flicker.
Kwanpo's eyes snapped open.
And then.
"It... it doesn't hurt..."
He was stunned.
His dantian felt perfectly at ease, like a miracle.
Even soaked in the aphrodisiac, there'd been a dull ache, and the two days purging its turbid qi had brought sharp pain.
That had been nothing compared to this ordeal, but it had hurt, no doubt.
Yet now, not a twinge.
The agony that had tormented him for years was gone.
"It's not fully healed yet."
At the sudden voice, Kwanpo shot up from the bed.
Then relaxed as he recognized it.
Ha Mu-baek stood at the door.
The man was uncanny.
"I've completely removed the Gloomy Underworld King's Underworld Demon Kill from your dantian. Far worse than the aphrodisiac's turbid qi, so it must've hurt."
'A little?'
The thought flashed in his mind.
He couldn't voice it.
"And I've planted energy to mend and heal the tears in your dantian."
Kwanpo's eyes went wide.
Such energy existed in this world?
Every physician he'd consulted had said torn dantians couldn't heal.
It was medical basics.
Yet it could mend?
Kwanpo trembled faintly.
Truth be told, even when Ha Mu-baek promised healing, doubt had lingered deep in his heart.
"It's been years since the Underworld Demon Kill hit, so your dantian's a mess. It'll take three months for full recovery."
Just three months.
After that, he'd be normal again.
"Keep the dantian stable in the meantime—never release the Great Power White Heron Art seal. With the seal in place, you can use about half your internal energy, but more is forbidden."
"Y-yes... Th-thank you. Ugh..."
"You'll know when it's fully healed. Release the seal then. I have somewhere to be, so guard this inn while I'm gone."
And Ha Mu-baek vanished.
"Wh-what do you mean 'know automatically'...?"
Kwanpo called out urgently, but Ha Mu-baek was already gone.