Chapter 250

Even the old man holding the shinbone couldn’t avoid the poison’s effects. A trace amount of poison that came up through the internal energy in the shinbone penetrated through his fingertips.

The old man’s complexion repeatedly turned blue then red. The area under his eyes turned yellow with pus forming. The fingertips holding the shinbone had already turned black.

He was poisoned.

By an extremely small amount of poison.

Considering his internal strength, this was unimaginable.

His body was nearly immune to all poisons.

Yet he had been poisoned by Jin Ja-gang’s turbid energy.

And for good reason, since Jin Ja-gang’s turbid energy wasn’t ordinary turbid energy.

The Hundred Flowers Valley’s Transformation Elixir had clung to poison energy to prevent poison from spreading throughout Jin Ja-gang’s body, solidifying in his energy channels. This had been continuously absorbing poison energy without Jin Ja-gang’s knowledge.

This was also why the poison from the venomous insects Mang Ryo had tested and fed to Jin Ja-gang didn’t spread severely and quickly disappeared. The Transformation Elixir had absorbed poison above a certain level as turbid energy and solidified it in the energy channels to prevent it from circulating in the body.

It was natural that Jin Ja-gang had felt some was lost when he consumed poison to accumulate it in his dantian. It wasn’t digested but rather amounts he couldn’t handle were converted to turbid energy and accumulated.

The reason the turbid energy in his left half became more solid when he broke through his right half was the same. With nowhere for the poison energy that should remain in his energy channels to go, it concentrated in his left half.

So naturally, all kinds of poison essences were contained in that turbid energy.

Starting with the Five Colored Centipede, all the various poisons Mang Ryo had injected, the poison of Kunlun Sulfur Oil, poison inhaled in the mine tunnels, Serpent Swaying Divine Water, Clear Blood Gland Snake, and countless poisonous herbs he had recently consumed.

It was turbid energy created by the gradual accumulation of all poison essences!

If there existed a body immune to all poisons that rejected poison, then Jin Ja-gang’s turbid energy was truly the energy of a thousand poisons, ten thousand poisons. It had to be called a festival of extreme poison that even a body immune to all poisons would find difficult to endure.

The worst absolute poison created by the combination of all poisons.

Jin Ja-gang had just realized this fact.

The moment he thought of it as poison energy rather than turbid energy, a thrill ran through his entire body.

Jin Ja-gang’s thrill was also transmitted to the turbid energy. Finally, the turbid energy accepted Jin Ja-gang’s control. The turbid energy in his left half began to slowly flow through his energy channels!

Though it moved sluggishly like mud, the mere fact that it accepted control was something that couldn’t help but amaze Jin Ja-gang.

Whoosh.

As the turbid energy emanating from Jin Ja-gang’s body intensified, hazy steam appeared visibly then slowly settled.

The prisoner shouted.

“Mok Ho! Are you alright!”

The old man laughed heartily while bleeding from his nose.

“I’m fine. I kept saying this was interesting, and he really was an interesting fellow! I understand why you achieved Primordial Unity but couldn’t become true Primordial Unity.”

The old man spoke as if sighing.

“Woo-am, my friend. What exactly have you sent me?”

The old man couldn’t endure anymore and released the shinbone. It was closer to dropping it.

The old man released the shinbone and stepped back. At the same time, Jin Ja-gang also awakened from his concentration.

“Cough!”

He vomited blood heavily.

“Mok Ho!”

“Stop calling me, you bastard! It’s hard to even speak!”

The prisoner was greatly shocked. If the old man found it hard to speak, just how severe was this poison!

Jin Ja-gang escaped from the vortex shock when the old man suddenly stopped, but somehow felt regret. It seemed like some other change might have occurred in his body if he had continued a little more.

The old man wiped his nosebleed and said.

“Don’t feel regret. It’s your fault. I told you to use vortex but you’re releasing poison?”

Seeping.

The turbid energies that had risen to Jin Ja-gang’s skin slowly seeped back in when Jin Ja-gang withdrew his internal energy and lay dormant in his energy channels.

Jin Ja-gang was still somewhat bewildered. What he had only known as mere turbid energy was actually tremendous poison and could even be circulated through energy channels…

The old man had already assumed lotus position and entered energy cultivation. It was to drive out the poison.

The prisoner from another cell was also quiet for a while, probably also practicing energy cultivation.

After finishing energy cultivation for some time, the old man’s complexion was much better than before. The old man spat black blood-mixed saliva onto the ground and spoke in a refreshed voice.

“Now that I know you’ve reached Primordial Unity, I’ll transmit the correct incantation to you.”

The old man shouted.

“Block your ears.”

He wasn’t speaking to Jin Ja-gang. The prisoner outside immediately responded.

“Yes!”

The old man then began teaching Jin Ja-gang the incantation of the Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art. Jin Ja-gang memorized the incantation in his head, repeating it several times.

The incantation of the Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art that the old man taught was almost the same as what Jin Ja-gang had heard through Dan Ryeong-gyeong and Venerable Woo-am, yet had different parts, and even had a latter half added that was as long as the first half.

After reciting the entire incantation, the old man asked.

“Do you have any questions?”

If not now, he might never have another chance to hear it. Jin Ja-gang asked about the parts that differed from what he knew.

“I heard that the Five Thunder Toad Art creates five whirlpools to make vortex dam impact, and the five types of vortexes each symbolize the Five Elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. But that part seems to have no mention of the Five Elements.”

“It has to be that way.”

The old man explained.

“Woo-am and I each received our own martial arts and interpreted them differently from our own perspectives. Woo-am used the Five Elements as an analogy for that part, but actually it wasn’t Five Elements but Five Thunders. If it were Five Elements, it should be called Five Elements Toad Art rather than Five Thunder Toad Art.”

Jin Ja-gang was even more puzzled.

“Isn’t Venerable Woo-am a Taoist of the Qingcheng sect? Then why did he change it to Five Elements?”

“Woo-am…”

The old man paused briefly then continued.

“Revised the incantation of the Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art once more for a woman he loved. He said he chose easy analogies the woman could understand.”

“Ah…”

A mystery that only now became clear to Jin Ja-gang.

The woman Woo-am loved was Dan Ryeong-gyeong. However, to Jin Ja-gang, that didn’t seem like such an important matter.

But the old man was different.

“No matter how clever Woo-am was, if he arbitrarily changed the original incantation, how could the meaning continue in the latter half? At that time he was young and his understanding of our sect’s Five Thunder Heaven-Piercing Art was low. In the end, Woo-am couldn’t complete the incantation for the latter half. However, because he had already transmitted the incantation to the woman without my knowledge, we fought several times. And because of that, both Woo-am and I ended up in this situation.”

The old man spoke words filled with regret.

“Because the Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art leaked outside rather than staying with us two, someone who learned of its existence harbored evil intentions and interfered between us.”

Baek Li-jung!

“That person was precisely Baek Li-jung. Because of him, Woo-am lost the woman he loved to that man, the woman’s family was destroyed, and I ended up confined here. From the beginning, Baek Li-jung approached the woman targeting the incantation of the Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art, but knowing it wasn’t a complete secret manual, he tried to threaten Woo-am and me to obtain the latter half.”

Jin Ja-gang asked.

“Though presumptuous, you don’t seem to be in a confined state.”

“Not being physically confined doesn’t mean it’s not confinement. I became mentally bound, had my weakness grasped, and confined myself here. The reason is…”

When the old man couldn’t continue speaking for a long time, Jin Ja-gang asked.

“Did he threaten you two using the pretext that the Qingcheng sect’s leader had interactions with the Fire Cult and learned demonic arts?”

[TL Note- Fire Cult was previously translated wrongly as Yellow Cult.]

“Ah, of course that happened. Though that fellow Baek Li-jung appears to be a chivalrous and generous person on the surface, inside he’s incredibly sinister, so he threatened me and Woo-am with that. Even now he probably thinks I’m trapped here because of his threats.”

The old man snorted thinking of Baek Li-jung.

“Using the fact that I like Go, and that I was playing Go with Woo-am before confining myself here, he continuously sent people intending to extract the remaining incantation of the latter half from me. Thanks to that, I was able to make many good Go stones from shinbones.”

“Was there another reason you remained here?”

“That’s right. I was staying here not because of threats but for another reason.”

The old man continued.

“Because I committed an irreversible sin against Woo-am. I was waiting here for Woo-am’s forgiveness.”

It was an even more incomprehensible story.

However, somehow it seemed understandable.

Jin Ja-gang found it difficult to ask further. The old man’s expression was that sorrowful.

“But seeing that he only told you the game record without any other words, that friend ultimately doesn’t forgive me and wants to send me away. It seems I must be satisfied only with having no regret left from the Go match due to the sin I committed.”

Was that the meaning of Not Counting Defeat?

If Venerable Woo-am had forgiven the old man, it seemed he would have played moves to win with his utmost effort. That would be courtesy toward forty years of competition.

However, Venerable Woo-am had forcibly ended the match with the old man by giving up the game.

The old man said.

“But that also ends today. Since Woo-am doesn’t forgive me and has decided to die himself, I no longer need to remain here for him.”

The old man shook his head left and right.

“The unnecessary talk was long. Let me explain about the Five Thunders. Five Thunders is used in various meanings. In Taoism, it refers to Heaven Thunder, Earth Thunder, Water Thunder, Dragon Thunder, and Supreme Commander Thunder. So Woo-am interpreted this as Five Elements. However, the Five Thunders in Five Thunder Heaven-Piercing Art doesn’t refer to five types of energy.”

The old man recited scripture.

“The Divine Spirit spoke, saying in the beginning the two energies of yin and yang combined to create Five Thunders. These Five Thunders refer to powerful lightning formed by combining five types of thunder power. That is, this precisely means Primordial Unity where yin and yang are combined.”

Jin Ja-gang thought he had already achieved Primordial Unity.

However, it was still difficult to understand.

“Primordial Unity differs for each person. Since you’ve already begun to somewhat achieve your Primordial Unity, you’ll naturally awaken to the incantation of the latter half at some point without me having to explain it to you. Even if I explain it, it would be useless until you understand it yourself.”

“Primordial Unity…”

Finding and completing Primordial Unity could ultimately be the final destination of the Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art.

“Thank you.”

Jin Ja-gang stood up and tried to show courtesy. However, the old man raised his hand to stop him.

“You came on Woo-am’s errand and I merely handed over an item. Now the rest is your share.”

The old man looked at Jin Ja-gang and asked.

“Will you leave this place now?”

Instead of answering, Jin Ja-gang built three dikes in his right half and circulated internal energy to create vortex dam impact. The turbid energy in his left half began to melt and flow sluggishly. Unlike circulating internal energy through the energy channels in his right half, the turbid energy in his left half circulated slowly and heavily.

Jin Ja-gang could now extract turbid energy in ways he couldn’t before. Through energy channels to his palms, through the pores in his palms in the form of sweat, he discharged poison liquid.

A few drops of sweat formed on Jin Ja-gang’s palms. Turbid energy mixed with sweat appeared as absolute poison liquid.

Though he hadn’t increased the number of dikes by meeting the old man, instead Jin Ja-gang became able to use the poison that had accumulated in his body for over ten years.

Jin Ja-gang took a deep breath and clenched his left fist tightly.

Only then did he answer the old man’s question.

“No. I still have work to do here.”

The old man grinned wickedly.

“What tremendous fighting spirit. Shall we see how many fellows can survive?”