Chapter 116: The One Who Walks Alone—The Solitary Path (1)

Two rumors swept across the realm.

The first concerned the Demonic Cult's intrusion into the gathering of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families.

The Demonic Cult's reappearance sent shockwaves through the martial world.

Though they had vanished from the world for decades, the terror they inspired remained deeply etched in people's minds. The news of their return stimulated that primal fear.

Their martial prowess, displayed when they had crashed the gathering, was nothing short of terrifying.

Among the fallen was Elder Yu Jin-sang of the Diancang Sect, along with countless others. The power displayed by the one known as the Golden Demon Lion was beyond belief.

He was a supreme master who wielded ki energy at will.

None of the masters who had attended the gathering could match him. Not even Sage Cheong-heo of the Wudang Sect.

People despaired at the Demonic Cult's return.

Now that they had revealed themselves, a full-scale invasion was only a matter of time. As they had in the past, they would once again drench the Central Plains in blood.

As the Demonic Cult's invasion drew closer to reality, people trembled in fear.

It was in this climate that the second rumor spread.

It concerned the Fist Demon, Dam Ho.

The rumor flew like wildfire: the Demonic Cult forces that had crashed the gathering and committed massacre had been routed by Dam Ho alone.

The Fist Demon—also called the Divine Stronghold Blood Sage.

Not a single rumor about him was ordinary.

In the Divine Stronghold, he had annihilated the Western Heavens Mountain Manor. In the martial world, he had killed the sect leader of the Xingshan Sect. And now, he had stood against the Demonic Cult intruders at the Azure Sun Sword Sect.

People were deeply confused by his unpredictable movements. But one thing was certain.

He was not a member of the Demonic Cult.

That alone brought people a sigh of relief. If he had been a Demonic Cult member, it would have been a catastrophe of the highest order.

Amid this, a quiet rumor began to spread: the Fist Demon was, in fact, a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. People were curious about the truth, but the Taoists of the Mount Hua Sect, and even the disciples of the Nine Great Sects, kept their lips firmly sealed.

The events at the Azure Sun Sword Sect were, from the perspective of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families, an inescapable humiliation.

The humiliation suffered by the Zhongnan Sect was particularly disgraceful. Rumors circulated that the Zhongnan Sect was harboring a grudge against Dam Ho.

But given the current state of affairs, they could not show it openly.

The one who walked alone, compromising with no one.

Perhaps that was why his martial arts came to be called the Solitary Path.

Dam Ho had thus become a legend.

After the Demonic Cult's reappearance, the formation of the Martial Alliance accelerated rapidly.

No one questioned the need for the Martial Alliance anymore. It had to be created.

Not only the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families, but sects from all over began voluntarily offering to join.

The establishment of the Martial Alliance proceeded immediately.

First, the Azure Sun Sword Sect voluntarily donated its site.

A hill overlooking Dongting Lake—it was a truly optimal location. As if they had been waiting, the Eun Family Guard donated the initial construction costs.

The Medical Virtue Sect dispatched support personnel, and martial artists from across the Central Plains gathered to join the Martial Alliance of their own accord.

The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families, along with numerous other sects, dispatched large numbers of elite fighters.

As the Martial Alliance's establishment was progressing smoothly, Dam Ho vanished from Azure Sun without a trace.

Countless people tracked Dam Ho's whereabouts. But his trail was not found. Still, people stubbornly pursued any trace of him.

The Fist Demon, Dam Ho, was worth pursuing.

Whatever anyone said, he was the current eye of the martial world's greatest storm. Depending on the choice he made, the entire situation of the martial world could shift dramatically.

Not only the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families, but the entire martial world was watching his movements.

"So a Martial Alliance is being established at Azure Sun?"

"That is correct."

"That is not good."

At his subordinate's answer, a man in his early fifties frowned.

A long scar, as though carved by a blade, ran across his left cheek. It gave him an exceedingly sinister appearance.

At his waist hung a large wolf saber. The handle, worn smooth by years of use, gleamed with the patina of long handling.

Ordinarily, once a man passed fifty, no matter how fierce he had been, his gaze would soften somewhat. But this man was different.

Even past fifty, the undying flame of fierce ambition burned in his eyes. It made his countenance all the more intense.

The man's name was Cho Yun-san.

His true identity was the stronghold lord of the Black Water Fortress, one of the Green Forest's Eighteen Fortresses.

In the Green Forest, his epithet was the Mad Blood Wolf Lord.

When he first entered the Green Forest, no one paid him any attention.

Every year, countless people entered the Green Forest, and many died. It was a savage place—a land of survival of the fittest.

The weak could not survive, and even the strong, if they let their guard down, could not guarantee the next day.

Cho Yun-san had started at the very bottom of the Green Forest, in the small mountain fortress of Black Water. But before long, he had distinguished himself like an awl poking through a sack.

Where he shone most was in the very thing that defined the Green Forest—robbery. He raided trading caravans and escort agencies, seizing enormous quantities of wealth.

He quickly caught the eye of the stronghold lord and soon became his most trusted aide. A few years later, he became the lord of Black Water Fortress.

After Cho Yun-san became stronghold lord, Black Water Fortress grew and grew. It expanded its power terrifyingly, eventually earning a place among the Eighteen Fortresses that represented the Green Forest. That had been a few years ago.

An ordinary Green Forest bandit would have been satisfied at this point. But Cho Yun-san's ambition was vast.

He was not content to be merely one of eighteen stronghold lords. He wished to become the supreme leader of the Green Forest.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, his ultimate goal was to become the Green Forest's supreme leader.

Cho Yun-san walked to the window.

The panorama of Black Water Fortress unfolded before his eyes.

A massive log fence encircled the grounds, with over twenty mountain strongholds huddled within. There was a large open ground where hundreds could gather at once, and a well that never ran dry even in the most severe drought.

This was a natural fortress. And it was the place Cho Yun-san had cultivated with painstaking effort for over a decade. Over a thousand Green Forest bandits resided here at all times.

With this level of force, Black Water Fortress could certainly be counted among the top ranks even within the Eighteen Fortresses.

Cho Yun-san murmured, "To topple the supreme leader, I need a powerful faction."

Black Water Fortress was strong, but the Overlord Fortress, led by supreme leader Hwang Gyeong-mun, was stronger.

As long as the Green Forest's greatest masters remained stationed at the Overlord Fortress, there was no way to bring it down through conventional means.

"That's why I must capture that girl. If I can take her hostage, I can certainly shake that old man."

"But that girl is protected by Muk Il-gwang, said to be the strongest master of the Dragon Ascension Guard. No ordinary force could even get close to her."

"That's why we must use our heads."

At his subordinate's words, Cho Yun-san's eyes glinted sharply. It was the wild, mad light that matched his title—the Mad Blood Wolf Lord.

"She is in Azure Sun, you said?"

"Yes."

"And a Martial Alliance is being built at Azure Sun?"

"That is correct."

"Hmm!"

Cho Yun-san stroked his chin.

His mind raced furiously.

Soon, a plan came to him.

"Isn't there a vice stronghold lord near Azure Sun?"

"Yes! He is out monitoring the movements of the Mount Hua Sect's Taoists."

"Deliver my letter to the vice stronghold lord and tell him to go to Azure Sun."

"Understood."

The subordinate answered without a moment's hesitation.

Cho Yun-san's eyes glinted coldly.

'I should have killed that girl back then.'

Whether it was purely intuition or not, Jin Ja-gang became suspicious of the Purple Gold Pills he had bought.

Turning around the alley and standing beside an appropriate wall, Jin Ja-gang took out one Purple Gold Pill to examine it. It was a pill shaped like a slightly pressed and flattened bean.

Since Jin Ja-gang had never seen Purple Gold Pills before, he couldn’t judge their condition just by their appearance.

So he tried eating one directly. He put it in his mouth and slowly dissolved it by rolling it around with his tongue. He concentrated so as not to miss the subtle differences in taste felt at the tip of his tongue.

‘Realgar, euphorbia, and croton seeds all have spicy tastes, but each has different properties. The sweet and spicy taste comes from realgar, and the spicy and bitter taste comes from euphorbia. Croton seeds are used after being dried in sunlight, so a warm energy can be felt.’

However, only a piercing spicy taste emerged.

Moreover…

‘I can’t taste the musk?’

The fragrance of musk was strongly felt, but the taste was somehow different. However, he couldn’t say for certain whether it was right or wrong. Musk also has distinctions between male and female, and even within the same species, musk is divided into superior and inferior grades depending on its condition.

After thinking for a moment, Jin Ja-gang put several pills in his mouth at once. He put in enough to make one cheek bulge and chewed them vigorously.

If the Purple Gold Pills were real, the medicinal effects would be excessively strong and could reach dangerous levels.

However, he had done this precisely with that point in mind.

Jin Ja-gang could endure eating any substance that caused harm.

The spicy taste became overwhelming and his tongue hurt.

After waiting a moment, the medicinal effects seemed to take hold.

Musk clears the mind, calms the heart, and improves blood circulation. It’s especially good for heart-related ailments.

However, he only felt nauseous along with a feeling of his body becoming limp.

His blood should circulate well enough to make his body warm with heat, but there was almost no such effect.

Even his stomach burned. His stomach seemed to twist and convulse, causing Jin Ja-gang to break out in cold sweat.

This was a side effect of euphorbia.

Jin Ja-gang felt none of the effects of the medicinal herbs he knew, only the side effects of euphorbia. Euphorbia is used as medicine, but its roots contain extreme poison that stimulates the stomach and makes people confused. What Jin Ja-gang had thought was limpness earlier wasn’t the medicinal effect of musk but the side effect of euphorbia.

This meant the proper preparation process hadn’t been followed to completely eliminate the poison.

If he had fed this to Mr. Jang, it would have been disastrous. For ordinary people it might be one thing, but for Mr. Jang who had almost no strength due to poisoning, it would be fatal. Long-term use would have almost no effect while only causing euphorbia poisoning.

Grind grind grind.

Jin Ja-gang unconsciously ground his teeth.

‘They sold fake Purple Gold Pills!’

Anger.

Suddenly killing intent surged. He was overwhelmed by the impulse to kill.

Jin Ja-gang was filled with killing intent and unconsciously activated his internal energy.

Just around the corner was that old man. In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he could twist his neck and still have time left over.

The energy that entered through his Baihui point through breathing circulated inside Jin Ja-gang and became a handful of internal energy.

Then!

Jin Ja-gang suddenly received a shock like being struck by lightning in his right side.

This was something that had never happened even once before.

“Kuh… huk!”

Jin Ja-gang had to block his throat with his tongue and swallow his breath to avoid screaming. Even that wasn’t enough, so he hastily bit his sleeve.

It stung. It felt like thousands of thorns were piercing his right side. Not piercing from outside, but as if thorns were protruding from inside to outside.

Uaaaaaaah!

In an instant, Jin Ja-gang’s face turned red. Cold sweat beaded continuously. His back became damp.

‘Th-this!’

It was because of internal energy.

Every time internal energy circulated through the meridians of his right side, tremendous shock and pain followed. To make a comparison, it was similar to walking on a salt field with all the skin peeled off his soles, exposing raw flesh.

Previously, all his meridians had been blocked with only thread-like holes open. But now, for some reason, the meridians were wide open and internal energy was flowing rapidly like a torrent.

It was like walking on a winding mountain path and suddenly coming out onto a main road to ride in a racing carriage.

Internal energy dozens of times faster than before escaped Jin Ja-gang’s control and rampaged through his right side. The meridians couldn’t withstand the shock caused by the rampaging internal energy and ruptured slightly each time they collided, causing unbearable pain.

Thud, thud-thud-thud!

He felt the minute vibrations of meridians rupturing, giving him chills.

Whirrrr!

The internal energy continued circling Jin Ja-gang’s right side like a dog chasing its tail. The small mass of internal energy grew larger as it circulated through the meridians. Like rolling a small snowball to make it bigger, like spinning a rope with a weight attached, the destructive power increased rapidly with each additional circulation.

Jin Ja-gang was seized by the fear that his entire right side would fall off.

‘Uaaaah!’

Unable to bear it, he swung his right hand. The rampaging internal energy moved to his right hand like an arrow.

With the feeling of a heavy mass escaping.

Thwack!

Jin Ja-gang’s hand pierced through a wall built with mixed earth and gravel like lightning.

“Huk… huk huk.”

Jin Ja-gang gasped for breath with his hand buried up to the elbow in the wall.

Pssss.

Earth and sand fell down.

He forcibly pulled out his hand. His fingernails were damaged and his skin was scraped and torn. However, he felt no major problems with his bones.

“This… what on earth…”

A bizarre phenomenon that even Jin Ja-gang couldn’t believe.

Why had this happened?

The only suspicious thing was when he was attacked by Hundred Fragrances Wei Zong and doused with poison.

What had happened to him then?

Could it be…

“Ugh.”

Jin Ja-gang clutched his right face as if it would burst from pain. Not just his face, but his entire right side tingled madly.

“Uuuuuh!”

Jin Ja-gang put his hands on the ground and knelt. Sweat poured from his face like rain.

The durability of his meridians had become pathetically weak. In contrast, his internal energy moved too quickly.

It was like a heavy cargo wagon racing across a bridge that was rotten and about to collapse at any moment. This meant that every time he used internal energy in the future, this same pain would continue to accompany it.

The meridians would heal and then rupture again, heal and rupture again.

If he continued using internal energy in this way?

Someday Jin Ja-gang’s body would be unable to endure and reach destruction.

He had gained destructive power but lost his future… Jin Ja-gang couldn’t get up from his spot for a while due to the eerie feeling and the pain still aching in his right side.

However.

In Jin Ja-gang’s painfully contorted eyes, a thread of mockery had appeared.

Pain becomes familiar.

But for those unfamiliar with pain, the pain Jin Ja-gang would bestow would be very terrible.

This power gained unintentionally, or perhaps intentionally by someone, would be used precisely for that purpose.

* * *

The old man was cutting dried licorice with a chopping knife when he blankly raised his head.

“Huh? Why are you back again? Buying more?”

Jin Ja-gang answered.

“I’d like to buy some more Purple Gold Pills.”

It hadn’t even been half an hour since he bought them. The old man tilted his head.

“You mean give you more? Well, if you pay money, giving them isn’t difficult. How many more?”

“Two more bundles, please.”

Forty pills per bundle, so eighty pills.

“Really? Must be a lot of sick people? Do you have money?”

Jin Ja-gang silently took out silver coins.

Seeing the money, the old man no longer hesitated.

“Come inside and wait a moment. The ones outside are all sold out and not packaged. I’ll bring out new ones, so come inside and sit. Have a cup of tea too. I’ll treat you well.”

The old man brought tea to a small table in one corner.

“It’s tea that’s good for the body. Especially for young fellows. Very vigorous at night. Try this too, and if it’s effective, come buy it later. I made it by brewing epimedium with morinda root…”

Jin Ja-gang didn’t sit down but placed his palm on the table.

Then he activated his internal energy.

A strong wind arose inside his body. Pain came quickly. The mass of internal energy rotated like a whirlwind.

Thud thud, thud-thud.

The meridians ruptured again.

Jin Ja-gang moved the internal energy to his shoulder and entire arm and pressed down on the table with all his might.

Crack!

The roughly hammered table instantly collapsed. The teapot and teacup placed on it fell and shattered.

Crash!

“Huu, huu.”

Sweat beaded on Jin Ja-gang’s face again. Jin Ja-gang raised his head and glared at the old man.

Gulp.

The old man swallowed dry saliva.

He had done something wrong and couldn’t speak.

Jin Ja-gang said quietly.

“Real Purple Gold Pills.”

Jin Ja-gang’s gaze was so murderous that the old man’s knees went weak.

The old man had originally thought he was lucky. He had sold more than ten bundles of fake Purple Gold Pills that cost almost nothing in materials just today.

Thanks to the problems at Poison Valley, medicine sold like hotcakes just by putting the name Purple Gold Pills on it.

Honestly, who would know what was inside the pills? He had thrown in cheap materials and instead of expensive musk, mixed various materials like civet cat scent glands and black musk to create a similar fragrance.

Still, people bought them saying they were good. In fact, they probably knew to some degree. That real Purple Gold Pills could never be bought for half a tael of silver.

When you only look for cheap things, isn’t there some degree you have to accept?

And anyway, when some nobody who wasn’t even a regular customer came, he felt even less need to give the real thing.

But a martial artist.

Moreover, a martial artist who could distinguish Purple Gold Pills.

He didn’t know why he was sweating profusely, but if that guy had pressed on his body instead of the table… his ribs would probably all be broken.

Finally, the old man went with trembling steps to take out real Purple Gold Pills from a drawer.

These were Purple Gold Pills in wooden boxes, not paper wrapping. Real Purple Gold Pills, especially the highest quality ones with high medicinal effects, were incomparable to fakes. The price alone was more than ten times that of ordinary Purple Gold Pills. Of course, these weren’t sold to just anyone even if they paid money.

Jin Ja-gang took out a Purple Gold Pill from the wooden box and tasted one.

Deep flavor. Sweet and pleasant fragrance without rejection.

Even someone who knew nothing would be able to tell this was a supreme-grade pill.

“Two bundles. Eighty pills.”

Jin Ja-gang spoke curtly with a tone that he wouldn’t forgive shoddy work.

The old man reluctantly took out another wooden box and handed it to Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang put down the fake Purple Gold Pills he had taken in paper wrapping and took the two wooden boxes containing real Purple Gold Pills. Then he put down half a tael of silver beside them. Since he had bought them for half a tael earlier, combined with the exchange, he was buying them for one tael.

“L-look here, the ones in wooden boxes cost two taels of silver…”

Jin Ja-gang stared directly at the old man.

The old man flinched. But Jin Ja-gang asked.

“Can you also obtain Red Flame Pills? If you can get them, I’ll pay the price.”

“R-Red Flame Pills?”

Red Flame Pills were a medicine that strengthened the body and had nourishing effects, but were more commonly used to enhance sexual desire.

Therefore, they were more famous in red-light districts than in pharmacies or medical clinics. One of the medicine sect elders had taught him that just learning how to make this one thing would ensure he’d never starve later. Of course, at that time he had added the condition “if Jin Ja-gang could get out of the mine shaft.”

Anyway, the ingredients for making these Red Flame Pills included women’s menstrual blood.

The old man smiled awkwardly and said.

“Instead of Red Flame Pills, the tea you drank earlier has much better effects…”

“Red Flame Pills. Proper ones.”

“…I don’t have any.”

When the young man glared at the old man as if asking if that was really true, the old man hastily made excuses.

“To make proper Red Flame Pills, you need women’s menstrual blood, but that doesn’t come out just anytime. At the brothel up ahead, maybe the day after tomorrow…”

“Then that’s fine.”

Jin Ja-gang looked toward the brothel ahead.

Getting a clue about menstrual blood was quite an achievement. He could watch carefully and steal menstrual cloths when a maid went to do laundry or something.