Chapter 6 – Losing and Gaining

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read more at Nineheavens.org

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Chapter 6 – Losing and Gaining

Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon, Ba Hun.

He who had reached the pinnacle of the Central Plains martial world and reigned as the strongest decades ago, and he who had last drawn out and used the unfathomable divine power of the Divine Martial Sword.

The dozens of types of elixirs now before Cheol Ryu-heun's eyes were what that very Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon had gathered during his lifetime.

Originally, this was not an arrangement intended as a fortuitous encounter for future practitioners to obtain.

It was simply that Ba Hun himself had built a mechanism-equipped secret chamber to store them while seeking new enlightenment.

The reason he had taken to collecting all manner of precious items was to console the emptiness from having no worthy rivals, and while doing so, he became obsessed with new enlightenment, completely withdrew from the martial world, and came to live in seclusion here in Three Immortals Mountain.

What he had enthusiastically devoted himself to at that time was an unprecedented cultivation.

The so-called Feathered Ascension to Immortality.

The ultimate realm of the Dao – shedding the shackles of the mortal world and ascending to the heavens as if sprouting wings to become an immortal.

It was precisely his yearning for that enlightenment that had led him to pack up all the precious items he had collected with time and care and bring them to this remote area.

'In the end, he achieved his dream. Just like his personal title.'

Indeed.

Not many years after going into seclusion, Ba Hun achieved Feathered Ascension to Immortality and literally 'ascended to heaven.'

He even dissipated like dust, enveloped in brilliant light, without having consumed even a third of the stored elixirs.

Thanks to that sudden enlightenment, Cheol Ryu-heun now got to monopolize everything, so the result was essentially no different from an arranged fortuitous encounter.

Additionally, Sagong Woon had also contributed to this situation.

At the time, he had only taken the single sword placed on the platform inside the cave he had happened to discover, without trying to investigate anything further.

He was fully satisfied with obtaining an extraordinary blade without rummaging through every corner of the cave.

That was simply his nature.

He was a man without any greed.

The title White Gate Sword Gentleman also symbolized his character and reputation.

-An ownerless precious sword? I was just worried about not having a good sword for my sect, what luck.

Those were the words Sagong Woon had murmured while taking hold of him – the Divine Martial Sword – at that time.

It was freshly regrettable.

Sagong Woon had departed from this world without even knowing that the elixirs in the cave existed, let alone the fact that his sword was the greatest divine weapon.

'I'll just have to consider it fate. When I find the killer later, I'll cut off his head and at least comfort his spirit.'

Cheol Ryu-heun promptly strode into the secret chamber.

Griiiiind-

Right after the wall that doubled as the entrance closed again.

Having tossed his bundle to one side, he went to the chest at the front and examined the elixirs inside one by one.

The storage condition was perfect.

Not a single one had deteriorated.

This was due to factors of the secret chamber's structure itself, combined with the cold air emanating from a white crystal placed in the center of the chest.

White Ice Jade.

It was an extraordinary precious gem from beyond the borders that could preserve items like food and medicinal ingredients without damage for long periods.

After finishing his inspection, Cheol Ryu-heun leaned the fire striker against one wall and turned his head.

In the left corner of the stone chamber, a fairly large chest was visible.

It contained other precious items besides the elixirs.

He shouldn't touch that yet.

He needed to first achieve Bone Replacement and Marrow Cleansing, his top priority goal.

Cheol Ryu-heun's gaze returned to inside the chest.

The moment had come to begin the full-scale body reconstruction work.

His first choice was.

Grab.

The Great Restoration Pill.

The representative elixir of Shaolin Temple, the sacred ground of Buddhist martial arts boasting the longest history and tradition regardless of orthodox or unorthodox factions.

The reason for choosing the Great Restoration Pill first was simple.

Because it was a pill refined with Internal Energy Cultivation based on Buddhist compassion that embraced all things, it showed efficacy regardless of the martial arts attribute of the consumer.

That was why the Great Restoration Pill of Shaolin Temple had been called the supreme elixir and the universal elixir since ancient times.

Whether one had cultivated orthodox arts, unorthodox arts, or demonic arts, it made no distinction.

Simply consuming it would produce effects suited to one's constitution, and in some cases, it would even awaken latent abilities and double the effects.

Crunch, crunch.

Cheol Ryu-heun chewed and swallowed the Great Restoration Pill, then sat cross-legged and began circulating his energy.

True to its nature as a supreme elixir, an immediate reaction appeared.

Pop, pop-pop, pop…

The sound of all the acupoints in the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Primary Meridians opening.

If an expert proficient in Internal Energy Cultivation had done this, they would have instantly gained over twenty years' worth of new internal energy.

However, this body fell far short of that level.

In other words, unlike typical first-rate masters whose energy vessels and meridians were well developed, the efficacy of the Great Restoration Pill manifested as the opening of major acupoints rather than an increase in internal energy level.

Using a Great Restoration Pill merely to open acupoints could be considered an enormous luxury.

However, from Cheol Ryu-heun's perspective of wanting to reconstruct his body in a short time, it was absolutely not a luxury.

If it was necessary for strengthening his constitution, he had no regrets whatsoever.

It was only natural.

He needed to first create a body that could freely operate Internal Energy Cultivation like a first-rate master before he could supplement the remaining aspects.

Increasing internal energy level was merely one task in the sequence.

"Whooooo…"

After regulating his breathing, Cheol Ryu-heun promptly consumed the yellow mushroom and blue fruit from inside the chest in succession.

Crunch crunch, crunch crunch.

Two natural elixirs called Golden Mushroom and Azure Immortal Fruit.

Feeling the power spread through his body, he performed energy circulation again.

Soon, the inherent energies of the Golden Mushroom and Azure Immortal Fruit harmoniously merged with that of the Great Restoration Pill, and his energy pathways expanded.

After catching his breath once more, Cheol Ryu-heun continued to rapidly chew and swallow the elixirs from the chest without rest.

Crunch crunch, crunch crunch, crunch crunch, crunch crunch…

Thus, half of the elixirs in the chest – including the Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng, Human-Shaped Polygonum, and Dragon Fruit – disappeared.

'The preparations are complete.'

He had eaten as much as he needed to for the Bone Replacement and Marrow Cleansing process, and now only one final energy circulation remained.

In truth, consuming this much quantity all at once was no different from suicide.

Even good medicine becomes poison if used incorrectly.

As the saying goes, too much is as bad as too little.

Even a renowned first-rate master would invite disaster by consuming in this manner.

The excessive medicinal effects made the possibility of becoming half-paralyzed or dying an unexpected death from energy deviation very high.

And yet.

Not a hint of burden showed on Cheol Ryu-heun's expression.

He had properly mastered the know-how for dealing with the current situation.

He had seen, heard, and learned long ago.

Through the lives of the Heavenly Demon, the Sword Emperor, the Evil Emperor, the Martial Immortal, and the Blood God, who had spiritually communicated with him when he was a Divine Martial Sword in the past.

He had seen countless strong fighters over the past thousand years, but those Five were on an entirely different level when it came to their cultivation of Internal Energy Cultivation.

In other words, Cheol Ryu-heun planned to unify the enlightenment of those five people and utilize it as a solution.

The final energy circulation began.

When about one quarter-hour had passed.

Cheol Ryu-heun's expression suddenly contorted horribly.

'Ugh!'

It was because the vast energy was racing through each energy pathway, inducing tremendous pain.

Prickling.

The Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Primary Meridians instantly became burning hot.

As if boiling molten metal was spreading through them.

Thick beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

If that energy were simply converted to internal energy quantity, it would amount to nearly two hundred years' worth.

Naturally, using all that power to transform his body would be painful.

The internal heat grew even fiercer.

Streaming, streaming – beads of sweat flowed ceaselessly.

His shabby clothes were already soaked as if dipped in water, clinging tightly to his skin.

A sudden intangible shock struck.

Boom!

His mind grew hazy.

The Governor and Conception vessels – symbolizing the leap to first-rate mastery – had completely opened, intensifying the pain.

That was not the end.

Boom, ka-boom, boom-!

The intangible shock once again shook various parts of his body.

'Gah!'

He couldn't breathe.

On top of the merciless heat, it felt like he was being beaten all over his vital points with an iron club.

This kind of intense pain was something he was experiencing for the first time.

In truth, all his physical sensations had been transferred from Cheol Ryu-heun.

The pain from memories that had been imprinted through direct sensation, that is.

Since Cheol Ryu-heun before becoming a vegetative person had never had such an experience, it naturally felt unfamiliar to him as well…

It was only natural.

However, even this kind of pain had to be properly experienced at least once to be reborn as a true strong one.

Superhuman mental strength.

This was the moment it was needed.

Suddenly.

Hissssss…

A white smoke rose above his crown accompanied by a faint sound.

'Guh… Now is the time!'

Crying out internally, he closed off all the acupoints in his body and completely blocked the circulation of true energy.

Simultaneously.

Bulge, bulge.

His entire body swelled up as if it were a leather bag being inflated with air.

The expansion of energy pathways and blood vessels.

Because he had forcibly detained the vast energy, the pressure within the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Primary Meridians rapidly increased.

Cheol Ryu-heun's aim was to explosively operate his internal power like building a dam and then breaking it, thereby entering the initial stage of Bone Replacement and Marrow Cleansing.

When he reached his limit.

Crash-crash-crash, crash-crash-crash-crash-!

The moment Cheol Ryu-heun opened all his acupoints, an enormous amount of energy rushed at high speed through the major energy pathways and struck the lower dantian, middle dantian, and upper dantian.

"Aaaaaargh!"

While screaming, all the skin from the top of his head to the tips of his toes began to brutally rupture.

His head was dizzy.

It felt as though he was plummeting into an abyss of a thousand fathoms.

Then his skin was torn apart and bright red blood gushed out while his entire skeleton played a symphony.

Crack, crack, crack- Crunch, crunch, crunch-!

All two hundred-some bones were being dislocated and broken, creating that eerie sound.

He couldn't even scream. No, he didn't even have the strength to do so.

But at that moment.

Flash!

Brilliant energy light exploded outward from his body, and his clothes fell away in pieces.

Following that.

Boom, boom, boom!

Starting from the lower dantian, the middle dantian and upper dantian were mercilessly destroyed, and even more extreme pain rushed in.

Splat!

Cheol Ryu-heun, who had collapsed limply, struggled to hold onto his rapidly fading consciousness.

'I… can't… like this…'

Soon the world turned to darkness.

Thus Cheol Ryu-heun completely lost consciousness.

Meanwhile.

His wrecked body continued its eerie transformation without stopping, continuing to produce that spine-chilling sound.

Crack, crackle… crack… crackle…

* * *

Around noon the next day.

"Mmm."

Cheol Ryu-heun regained consciousness.

Soon, opening his eyes, he quickly grasped the situation and sprang his naked body upright.

'…!'

There was no pain.

His wounds had healed quickly.

Had he succeeded in reconstructing his body as he had hoped?

'I failed.'

That was Cheol Ryu-heun's conclusion.

Although his body itself had changed, all three dantians – the most important things for a martial artist – had been destroyed.

He let out a hollow laugh.

Currently, he was nothing more than an ordinary person incapable of Internal Energy Cultivation training itself.

What he had attempted to shorten the time to rise to the ranks of the strong had ultimately been in vain.

A method to restore the destroyed dantians?

Absurd.

There was no clever solution.

Throughout the history of the martial world, there had never been a case of restoring once-destroyed dantians.

Even if a method existed, it belonged to a domain outside his martial knowledge, so it was a distant prospect.

'How absurd. I never thought all three dantians would be destroyed…'

Cheol Ryu-heun soon fumbled to find his bundle, then took out a new fire striker and lit it.

Only then did he discover the molted remains scattered on the floor.

Traces of the Bone Replacement and Marrow Cleansing process.

Looking at them made his heart even more bitter.

Well, there was nothing he could do.

He had no choice but to accept reality.

Having manipulated the mechanism to open the wall, he walked barefoot step by step out of the cave in the nude.

The bright sunlight greeted him.

Gazing at the sky, Cheol Ryu-heun quietly clenched both fists and tensed his entire body.

'Yes… I cannot give up! I will somehow research a method to restore my dantians!'

At that very moment.

Rumble!

A vibrating sound echoed.

A trembling phenomenon of the ground and air.

Right after, a peculiar glint appeared across Cheol Ryu-heun's face.

'What?'

It was because of internal energy operation – that is, a large amount of true energy was circulating within his body.

What on earth was going on?

His three dantians had definitely been destroyed… yet his body was filled with powerful internal force.

As he operated his internal energy again together with his doubt, his entire body reacted violently.

Rumble- Rumble-!

The trembling intensified due to the intangible energy spreading outward from his body.

'My internal energy level has risen!'

When he raised his power one level higher.

Rummmmmble-!

The space within a one-jang radius created a great tremor, and spider-web-like cracks spread chaotically on the ground where his two feet stood.

Crack, crackle, split-!

Only then did Cheol Ryu-heun become certain.

That he had successfully completed Bone Replacement and Marrow Cleansing.

Furthermore, that this reconstructed body had developed and evolved in a completely unexpected direction.

In exchange for losing his three dantians, his internal energy level had dramatically risen.

A truly incomprehensible fortuitous encounter.

Having gathered his internal energy, Cheol Ryu-heun turned around and strode into the cave interior.

"How interesting."

A smile played at his lips.

His steps as he walked one foot at a time into the darkness were endlessly light as a feather.