Chapter 35 : One Body, Four Qi

Chapter 35: One Body, Four Qi

Wooong!

Kwaaah!

It felt as if blazing flames were digging into his body, surging inside him.

Sewoon could feel the roots of Angshin Tears carving a path through his innards.

For a moment, he thought he hadn’t swallowed the roots of Qi Transformation Grass, but a Poison Dragon manifested in the mortal realm.

Crunch!

Kwa-gak!

A pain unlike anything he had ever felt before overwhelmed him.

Through his previous life, Sewoon thought he had grown accustomed to the torment brought on by the Heavenly Punishment’s Evil Qi.

But this was on an entirely different level.

‘Kugh!’

The pain was greater than all the seizures from the Heavenly Punishment combined.

It was so intense he could not even dare to scream.

Sewoon nearly lost consciousness from the extreme agony, but he clenched his teeth and endured.

‘……It can’t go on like this.’

Cheok!

He forced his body to move and assumed the stance of a blacksmith at his forge.

Closing his eyes slowly, Sewoon focused on the flow of his inner qi.

Sssaaa!

The power of the Golden Bridle Movement Technique unfolded throughout the meridians of his entire body.

The remnants of qi that lingered faintly within him began to move ever so slowly.

Chwaaa!

Shaped like a great ‘tree,’ Sewoon’s circulation of inner qi cautiously began to activate.

The pure energy of the Golden Bridle Movement Technique carefully embraced the poisonous energy of Angshin Tears’ roots.

For a moment, it seemed as though things were stabilizing, but……

Kwa-ga!

Fwoooosh!

‘Kugh!!’

The poisonous energy of Angshin Tears flared violently, as if disgusted by the qi wrapping around it, burning it away entirely before devouring it whole.

At the same time, Sewoon felt as though molten lava was dissolving every vein in his body.

His face drained of all color in an instant.

“Keughk!”

In the end, he couldn’t endure and coughed up blood.

Dark crimson blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

His entire body trembled violently in spasms, and his consciousness threatened to fade.

Yet Sewoon did not withdraw the Golden Bridle Movement Technique.

To others, it might have seemed like a foolish act of deliberately inflicting pain upon himself.

But Sewoon had anticipated this from the beginning.

‘……Just a little more. Just a little longer.’

Perhaps his desperate will reached somewhere.

Krrraah!

Using the Golden Bridle Movement Technique as a sacrifice, the poisonous energy of Angshin Tears pressed forward, pressing further and further until it reached its final destination.

The Lower Dantian.

Crunch!

There, the Evil Qi of Heavenly Punishment, like a Starving Ghoul opening its maw, swallowed the poisonous energy of Angshin Tears.

Wooong!

A rapture spread through him, the Heavenly Punishment’s Evil Qi intoxicated with the venom it had consumed.

The Evil Qi was advancing to an entirely new stage.

But the poisonous energy of Angshin Tears did not remain idle.

It absorbed the Eight Extreme Poisons and the venom of the Angshin Tears’ flower, which Sewoon had stolen from the Poison Demon, making it its own.

Crack!

Then, it sank its fangs into the Evil Qi of Heavenly Punishment.

And began absorbing all of the toxins contained within that Evil Qi.

Perhaps because of this—

The venom of Angshin Tears mutated rapidly into something even more terrifying.

Sssaaa!

Kwaaaa!

The two energies bit into each other’s tails as they grew stronger and larger.

This was completely different from when the venom had simply burned away the energy of the Golden Bridle Movement Technique.

Faced with this, Sewoon realized his life stood at the edge of a cliff.

If the venom of Angshin Tears completed its absorption, his body would dissolve into nothing but blood under the extreme poison.

If the Heavenly Punishment’s Evil Qi devoured everything, he would not merely fall into Qi Deviation, but every vein in his body would explode, leaving not even a corpse behind.

‘Now, reduce Angshin Tears’ power a little. Good. Now suppress the Evil Qi instead……’

So, even amidst the agony, Sewoon focused all his mind on barely maintaining the precarious balance between the two forces.

It was a deadly trial, where even the slightest mistake would mean certain death.

But Sewoon did not panic. He calmly sought the solution with unwavering resolve.

And finally, that effort bore fruit.

Sssaaa!

Sewoon’s excruciating pain quickly began to fade.

There was only one reason for this change.

‘Divine Harmony!’

The division between the Evil Qi of Heavenly Punishment and the poison of Angshin Tears vanished, completing itself as a single energy.

Sssaaa!

Chwaa!

From Sewoon’s body, which had been immersed in silence, a mysterious dark-green radiance began to burst forth.

That brilliant light soon gathered toward Sewoon’s head, forming a single shape.

Chwaaa!

A magnificent, fully bloomed dark-green flower bud revealed its resplendent figure.

It was the Poison Flower Gathering at the Crown, which only appeared when a poison practitioner broke past the wall of the Supreme Peak Master Level.

‘Ahh.’

Sewoon let out an unconscious exclamation.

Earlier than in his previous life, Sewoon had broken past the wall of the Supreme Peak Master Level.

His Reverse Heaven Qi, which had long stagnated at minor mastery, finally advanced to intermediate mastery.

Of course, the cause of this breakthrough was the unknown force born from the fusion of Heavenly Punishment’s poison and the root poison of Angshin Tears.

No—he would now call it by another name.

‘Divine Poison Qi.’

A grandiose, arrogant name borrowed from the gods.

But nothing else could describe this power.

Sewoon’s internal energies could now be divided into four categories:

Reverse Heaven Qi in the Upper Dantian.

Golden Bridle Qi in his meridians.

Divine Poison Qi in the Lower Dantian.

Innate True Qi from birth.

The Golden Bridle Movement Technique strengthened his meridians into sturdy roots.

The Reverse Heaven Qi twisted that power into the trunk of a tree.

And this mysterious energy coursed through the roots and trunk like blood through a human body.

‘And the blood of a tree is water and nourishment.’

Koo-kooong!

The Divine Poison Qi was ramming violently against the wall of his malformed Lower Dantian.

It was desperately trying to surge into the Middle and Upper Dantian as well.

Thud!

Koo-kooong!

The Evil Qi of Heavenly Punishment and the poison of Angshin Tears.

Since these two ferocious energies had merged, the Divine Poison Qi rampaged uncontrollably, refusing to calm down.

Each time it crashed against the wall of his Lower Dantian, Sewoon felt as though his body was shattering.

‘Just one, even if it’s just one…’

Sewoon endured without so much as a groan.

And at last—

Puh-pung!

A tiny passage broke open in the blocked wall of his malformed Dantian.

Through that sole passage, the energy began to flow beyond his meridians, reaching even his Upper Dantian.

The Divine Poison Qi raced from the roots through the trunk, striving to bloom a radiant flower.

In his meridians, it mingled with the Golden Bridle Qi.

In his Upper Dantian, it mingled with the Reverse Heaven Qi.

Like amniotic fluid nourishing a fetus, the Divine Poison Qi embraced part of them before returning to the Lower Dantian.

‘Now back to the Lower Dantian!’

This was Sewoon’s very first attempt at the Small Heavenly Circuit in both his past and present life.

Tok.

Totok.

But the amount of Qi in his Lower Dantian amounted to only a few drops.

The passage to the Lower Dantian was so narrow that most of the energy scattered before it could enter.

In the end, the properly accumulated Divine Poison Qi in his Lower Dantian wasn’t even a year’s worth.

‘It worked!’

Yet Sewoon felt no regret.

From absolute nothingness, even the faintest possibility of using his Dantian had been born.

Sewoon knew just how immense a result that possibility would yield in the future.

Having completed his very first accumulation in the Lower Dantian, Sewoon slowly opened his eyes.

Kugugugu!

Kuaaaah!

But the sight that entered his vision was despair itself.

Cracks spread black across every direction inside the formation’s space.

Except for the single step of ground beneath him, the rest of the formation was already collapsing.

Only a single minute remained before total destruction.

And yet, even in this hair’s-breadth crisis—

“Hm.”

There was no fear or dread on Sewoon’s face.

Staring at the cracks before him, Sewoon clenched his fist.

“Then, shall I step outside?”

Chwarararara!

Already, the dark-green energy enveloping his right fist drew in the Black Threads of Heavenly Net, swirling together in a furious storm.

‘Oh child, why…’

Geum Hwa Sa-tae peered into the abyss-like cave, overcome with grief.

In front of the Poison Demon’s hidden cave, she, along with the Sichuan Tang Clan and the Emei Sect’s vanguard, had all gathered.

“H-huuh… huuuh. It’s all my fault. If only, if only I had called Master sooner…”

Cheong Yeon, who had run without rest until her feet were soaked in blood, had brought everyone here.

Through Ha Yeong, who had infiltrated with Sewoon, they had learned they held numerical superiority.

And yet not a single one dared step into the cave.

All because of the formation the Poison Demon had laid down.

“Damn it, why aren’t we going in?!”

“If we delay any longer, Young Lord will really be in danger!”

“I told you already, dismantling it from outside is enough!”

Meanwhile, the branch leader of the Murim Alliance’s Sichuan Branch wore a troubled expression.

He had been urgently summoned by Geum Hwa Sa-tae through carrier pigeon when the vanguard first set out, known for his expertise in breaking formations.

But until now, he had given excuse after excuse, refusing to enter the cave.

Even a commoner knew that a formation could only be properly dismantled from within.

“Damn it! Is the Murim Alliance abandoning its own members now?!”

“Damn right, you bastards! They are abandoning them!”

“What?”

“How the hell am I supposed to go in there? It’s already running rampant far beyond control!”

At the Sichuan Branch Leader’s brazen words, not only the warriors of the Sichuan Tang Clan but even Geum Hwa Sa-tae were left dumbfounded.

Yet the branch leader shamelessly continued.

“If I go in and get caught in the explosion too, will you take responsibility—!”

Puh-uck!

Before he could even finish, a harsh impact resounded.

With a strangled cry, the Sichuan Branch Leader, struck square in the jaw, was sent flying and crashed to the ground.

“Trash.”

Geum Hwa Sa-tae, who had landed the punch, spat coldly.

But at that moment, a disturbance arose on Tang Muyeol’s side.

“Clan Head, you mustn’t!”

“Step aside.”

“Please reconsider. If both Young Lord and Clan Head fall, our clan will be finished.”

“I said, step aside.”

Tang Bi, Leader of the Dark Flower Unit, blocked Tang Muyeol, who was about to recklessly charge into the cave.

Blinded by his son’s danger, Tang Muyeol had already lost half his reason.

Seeing this, Geum Hwa Sa-tae stepped up beside Tang Muyeol and spoke to Tang Bi.

“Hall Leader, stand down. I will go with the Clan Head.”

“Now then, Sect Leader.”

Tang Bi froze in bewilderment at the unexpected words.

“……Hall Leader, withdraw.”

“Master, I will come as well. My eyes will certainly be of help.”

Tang Serin and Ha Yeong also stepped forward to follow them.

At their determined faces, Tang Bi lowered his head in powerless resignation.

And then—

Kwaaaaang!

Kwagawa!

A massive explosion suddenly erupted from the cave behind them.

Kugugugugu!

Kugugu!

At the same time, the cave began collapsing in ruins.

The enormous cavern caved in like a mountain landslide, a horrific scene that left all wearing stricken expressions.

Sssaaa!

Kwagawa!

‘This poison qi!’

From deep within the devastation, a terrifying poison qi burst forth.

Step, step.

Through the billowing dust rising like mist, a lone figure slowly walked out.

From that unspeakably dreadful level of poison qi, everyone could already guess the figure’s identity.

“Prepare for battle—!”

Cha-chang!

At Tang Muyeol’s furious command, all Tang Clan warriors drew their weapons.

Even Geum Hwa Sa-tae gathered immense qi into both hands.

But at that moment—

“Stop! That’s not the Poison Demon!”

Suddenly, Ha Yeong shouted.

With her spiritual sight, she was the first to pierce through the dust and recognize the figure.

Sssaa!

Just then, the dust cloud parted, revealing the figure.

“Cough… Father…”

“Sewoon!”

“Young Lord Tang!”

Sewoon, bloodied and in a ghastly state, staggered forward.

His skin was covered with black spots—

clear aftereffects of one of the Eight Extreme Poisons known to belong to the Poison Demon: the Half-Sphere Blood Palm.

“Argh! It’s the Half-Sphere Blood Palm!”

“E-everyone, fall back!”

The Murim Alliance warriors shrank back in horror.

But—

Pabat!

Geum Hwa Sa-tae and Tang Muyeol.

Tang Serin, Ha Yeong, and Cheong Yeon.

The five of them rushed toward Sewoon without the slightest hesitation.

And then—

“You mustn’t… come to me…”

With those words, Sewoon collapsed into their arms.

But none of them noticed.

The faint smile tugging at Sewoon’s lips as he fell unconscious.