Chapter 228 – The Sand Castle is Swept Away by Strong Waves (3)

Yeom Jung-hwa woke up early in the morning.

As his nickname "Zhongnan's True Sword" suggested, he was a master swordsman. Since joining Zhongnan, he had never skipped morning training. This habit remained unchanged even after coming to Shouzhou.

The first thing he did after waking up was to polish his sword. He wiped the surface of the sword until it was shiny with a dry cloth.

Yeom Jung-hwa considered polishing the sword to be the most important thing in the world. By polishing the sword, he could better understand its condition.

After carefully polishing the sword, he came out to the training ground. As it was still before dawn, there was no one at the training ground.

The disciples of Zhongnan, knowing that Yeom Jung-hwa trained every morning, had vacated the training ground.

Yeom Jung-hwa stood in the center of the training ground.

Swish!

He drew his sword with his eyes closed.

For someone who had reached Yeom Jung-hwa's level, physical training had little meaning. However, it was necessary to move the body moderately to prevent rust from forming.

Yeom Jung-hwa, with his eyes closed, imagined one person.

Rough, disheveled black hair, fierce eyes like a beast, and a slightly limping foot. Even though it was just an imaginary figure, he could vividly sense the beastly smell mixed in the breath of the person he was imagining.

The being he had created in his imagination was Dam Ho.

The imaginary Dam Ho was walking towards him, limping slightly. The pulsation created by that off-beat step pressed down on Yeom Jung-hwa's heart.

Yeom Jung-hwa pointed his sword at the imaginary Dam Ho. At that moment, Dam Ho kicked off the ground and charged like a bull.

It was the Rushing Stride, which could be called Dam Ho's signature move.

Swoosh!

Yeom Jung-hwa deployed Zhongnan's secret footwork, the Shadow Step, to avoid Dam Ho's attack while simultaneously counterattacking with the first move of the Thirty-Six Swords of the Heavenly River.

Defense and attack occurred almost simultaneously.

As befitting an absolute master of Zhongnan, Yeom Jung-hwa unleashed the Thirty-Six Swords of the Heavenly River flawlessly. Like a river flowing freely under the sky, his sword fiercely drove Dam Ho back.

The sword energy condensed to form a sword river. The waves of the sword river surged towards Dam Ho as if to sweep everything away. However, the sword river he had created shattered the moment Dam Ho moved.

'Ugh!'

Yeom Jung-hwa's lips twisted unpleasantly.

In his imagination, Dam Ho's counterattack continued. The Single Yang Strike, Wave-Breaking Kick, and the ultimate techniques of the Poison Flow Style repeatedly pounded his body.

Yeom Jung-hwa unleashed the first move of the Thirty-Six Swords of the Heavenly River with all his might. But Dam Ho, like a demon, broke through all those techniques one by one and approached within arm's reach.

Clang!

The sword shattered, and his collar was grabbed. Then the world turned upside down.

Thud!

As his head hit the ground, Yeom Jung-hwa opened his eyes.

"Huff! Huff!"

The rough breathing he had been suppressing until now burst out. His entire body was already drenched in sweat.

It was just mental training. A training method that any master of that level could do. But its effect was no less than actual sparring.

"Lost again?"

Yeom Jung-hwa smiled bitterly.

He had engaged in mental sparring with Dam Ho several times so far. And he had lost every time.

When he first saw Dam Ho, he was tremendously shocked.

Martial arts and destructive power that defied common sense.

Above all, the terrifying killing intent to definitely kill the opponent.

He saw in Dam Ho the ideal of a martial artist that he had longed for.

The limp wasn't a problem. Rather, it made him seem even more frightening because he limped.

He wanted to defeat such a Dam Ho. Even if it was just in mental sparring.

"Sigh!"

Yeom Jung-hwa let out a sigh.

His heart was heavy. Emptiness and a sense of defeat filled his chest.

He wanted to overcome Dam Ho so badly, but not being able to overcome him even in mental sparring made him feel self-loathing, wondering if his martial arts were this insignificant.

Swish!

Yeom Jung-hwa shook his head as he sheathed his sword.

"I can understand those children's feelings now."

When he first heard the news that Jin Mu-young and the Nine Dragon Warriors had tried to drive Dam Ho out, risking infamy, he was furious.

Driving out a great force like Dam Ho from Shouzhou because of trivial desire for fame? It was something that anyone with even a little common sense wouldn't understand. But after losing to Dam Ho several times in mental sparring, he could understand to some extent.

"Only a Four God-level warrior could subdue him."

Yeom Jung-hwa was shaking his head as he was about to leave the training ground. Suddenly, his steps came to a halt.

He raised his head to look at the sky.

It was still before dawn. It was an early hour when most people hadn't woken up yet. Naturally, there should have been almost no movement of people. But a strange sensation was felt.

Yeom Jung-hwa's eyes widened for a moment.

Something was moving in the pitch-black night sky. At first, he thought it was a large bird. Most birds are active only during the day, but there are nocturnal birds too. However, the movement was too quiet to be simply a bird.

With a strange feeling, Yeom Jung-hwa raised his inner force.

Yeom Jung-hwa's eyes shook as if an earthquake had occurred as he looked at the night sky.

What he thought was a bird was actually a large kite. Hanging from the kite riding the wind was a figure dressed in black martial attire. There were hundreds of such kites floating in the dark sky.

"A-Attack!"

His voice, infused with inner force, echoed loudly throughout the Shouzhou branch.

At that moment, black figures dropped from the kites that had approached close to the ground.

Whoosh!

The black figures, falling towards the ground with their arms and legs spread wide, landed lightly on top of the pavilions of the Shouzhou branch. Then they all started running in one direction.

Yeom Jung-hwa leaped towards the black figures and shouted once more, gathering his inner force.

"We're under attack!"

His shout woke up the entire Shouzhou branch that had been asleep.

"What's going on?"

"An attack?"

Martial artists rushed out with their weapons. But by then, the black figures that had jumped from the kites had already disappeared beyond the pavilions.

"You b*st*rds!"

The only one pursuing them was Yeom Jung-hwa.

Tap! Tap!

In just two steps, he leaped over a large pavilion and saw the black figures sprinting through the Shouzhou branch.

"Stop!"

Yeom Jung-hwa unleashed the Thirty-Six Swords of the Heavenly River towards them.

Powerful sword energy rose like a tidal wave and surged towards the black figures. At that moment, four black figures who sensed the danger turned around.

Clang clang clang!

They swung their swords and shattered Yeom Jung-hwa's sword energy. While they were buying time like this, the rest of the black figures disappeared beyond another pavilion.

"You think you can escape?"

Yeom Jung-hwa roared and tried to pursue them. But the four black figures who had turned around stood in his way.

Swoosh!

Their swords flew towards Yeom Jung-hwa like vipers.

Yeom Jung-hwa intended to quickly take them down and pursue the disappeared black figures. But the martial prowess of the black figures blocking his way was more formidable than he had expected.

Clang!

With the sound of metal clashing, Yeom Jung-hwa's body came to an abrupt stop.

'These b*st*rds!'

Yeom Jung-hwa was slightly taken aback by the stronger than expected counterattack.

At that moment, an exquisite combined attack technique that seemed to move as one body was unleashed towards Yeom Jung-hwa. The four black figures pressed Yeom Jung-hwa, interlocking like cogwheels without the slightest gap. Even Yeom Jung-hwa was momentarily unable to do anything against them and had to step back.

But Yeom Jung-hwa was the absolute master that Zhongnan boasted of. He soon regained his grip on his sword and unleashed the higher-level moves of the Thirty-Six Swords of the Heavenly River.

Swish swish swish!

The air was filled entirely with his sword images. It wasn't simply manipulating sword energy.

Heavenly River's Raging Waves, the most destructive technique among the Thirty-Six Swords of the Heavenly River that utilizes sword rivers.

The moment sword rivers formed on Yeom Jung-hwa's sword, the black figures hurriedly retreated. It was an astonishingly quick judgment. But Yeom Jung-hwa was also an absolute master. His movements far exceeded the black figures' expectations and he had already approached within arm's reach.

Yeom Jung-hwa's sword plunged towards them. The black figures had no choice but to raise their swords to cover their front.

Boom!

At that moment, an explosion occurred. As if a thunderbolt had struck, an explosion centered on Yeom Jung-hwa's sword.

The black figures' swords, as well as their bodies, exploded.

It was truly a formidable power. But Yeom Jung-hwa had no time to admire his own martial arts and immediately leaped.

The number of black figures that had jumped from the kites exceeded several hundred at a glance. Yeom Jung-hwa had only taken down four of them.

Yeom Jung-hwa gritted his teeth.

The feeling was strange.

The black figures didn't even scream once until the moment of their death. As if they were people who didn't recognize their own death.

"What?"

Yeom Jung-hwa felt a strong sense of discomfort from their appearance. But he wasn't given time to solve the mystery.

Crash!

Suddenly, the well cover inside the Shouzhou branch was shattered and numerous martial artists poured out like ants.

Like the martial artists who had infiltrated by riding kites, they too were dressed all in black. As soon as they came up to the ground, they all ran in one direction as if by agreement.

"You b*st*rds!"

Yeom Jung-hwa leaped towards them. But he couldn't catch all of them alone.

"Over there."

"Stop them."

Belatedly, the martial artists who had been in the Shouzhou branch came running to block the black figures.

The sound of clashing metal and battle cries erupted from various places.

It was then.

"It's the Demonic Cult. The Demonic Cult has invaded."

The urgent voices of the martial artists standing guard outside the walls were heard. The Demonic Cult was launching a major offensive from the outside as well.

"This can't be!"

Yeom Jung-hwa's eyes shook.

Internal infiltration through kites and wells, and causing confusion. Not missing that gap, a major offensive from the outside.

The Shouzhou branch was crumbling helplessly.

On the inside, the black figures were causing disruption by throwing away their lives, and on the outside, the elite forces of the Demonic Cult were rushing in all at once. From the standpoint of the Murim Alliance, which had to deal with both sides simultaneously, they were bound to be short-handed.

Moreover, the place where the black figures had run to was where the leaders of the Murim Alliance were. If they were to be taken down by a surprise attack, the command system of the martial artists remaining here would collapse. Such a situation had to be prevented at all costs.

"You b*st*rds!"

Yeom Jung-hwa tried to rush to the quarters where the leaders were.

"Hoho! Where are you going in such a hurry, Master Yeom?"

If only an affected voice hadn't stopped him.

Before him stood a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her late thirties. The woman with neatly coiled hair and wearing luxurious palace attire was someone he had never seen before.

Yeom Jung-hwa raised his voice while taking a defensive stance.

"Who are you, wench?"

"How rude to call someone you've never met before a wench. That's too much."

"Where do you get off making such a bewitching expression? If you don't reveal your identity, I'll take your head in an instant."

"Ah! You're being too harsh. This girl is called the Full Moon Immortal, Jin Hye-won."

"Jin Hye-won? Did you also come from the Demonic Cult?"

"I came from the Divine Cult."

"So you're indeed a Demonic woman."

Yeom Jung-hwa raised his inner force. Even seeing him like this, Jin Hye-won didn't erase her smile.

"You don't need to be so wary. The night is long, and we still have plenty of time allowed to us."

"What?"

Whoosh!

At that moment, the ribbon belt attached to Jin Hye-won's waist stretched out. The ribbon belt, longer and wider than a whip, instantly confused Yeom Jung-hwa's vision. Surprised by the sudden attack, Yeom Jung-hwa hurriedly swung his sword to deflect the ribbon belt.

"Hohoho!"

Jin Hye-won let out a coquettish laugh as she retrieved her ribbon belt.

"Demonic woman!"

Although he should have been upset, she didn't show any sign of being offended. It was because Yeom Jung-hwa's words were somewhat true. She was a member of the Seven Great Demonic Masters.

"You've underestimated the Murim Alliance, Demonic woman."

"What is there to fear when there's no Fist Demon here? I wonder if you can stop the Seven Great Demonic Masters with just your strength?"

"You?"

As Yeom Jung-hwa's expression hardened, Jin Hye-won smiled as if pleased.

"I don't think so."

"How dare you!"

"Shall we test it out?"

Jin Hye-won's ribbon belt flew towards Yeom Jung-hwa once again.

“Both then and now.”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong smiled at Venerable Woo-am’s somewhat youthfully spirited tone.

“It seems I wasn’t the one who truly remained unchanged.”

Venerable Woo-am answered with mock solemnity.

“I’m making an effort because I’m in front of you. Actually, my head is going bald from trying to remember and imitate how I was thirty years ago.”

Anyone could tell it was a joke. Far from going bald, he was someone whose lustrous black hair outnumbered his white hairs.

Why had that been the case?

In the past, Dan Ryeong-gyeong had disliked Venerable Woo-am’s such playfulness. It seemed too frivolous and immature, which she hated. Jokes should also consider time and place, but Venerable Woo-am failed to do so. He was like someone obsessed with the compulsion to make Dan Ryeong-gyeong laugh.

So Dan Ryeong-gyeong had chosen him, the silent and dignified man with masculine character…

When Dan Ryeong-gyeong fell silent, Venerable Woo-am realized the atmosphere had become awkward.

“Are you reminiscing or trying to confess? Even so, you won’t be scolded by me. No matter what wrongdoings you confess, I won’t scold you.”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong closed her eyes and smiled.

She had thought wrongly.

How could a frivolous person remain so consistent for thirty years?

Venerable Woo-am was never a frivolous person. It only seemed so because he tried to bring laughter to Dan Ryeong-gyeong, but in reality, he was someone with an infinitely deep and profound heart.

“Today’s meeting was truly meaningful.”

“That’s fortunate. Otherwise, Taoist Bok-cheon would have been beaten a lot by me.”

Venerable Woo-am thought for a moment, then said.

“If you wish, I can help with extracting the poison.”

“That is still premature.”

To extract poison by pushing it out, bare skin must touch. Though martial world people are much freer in customs than ordinary people, there is still a clear distinction between men and women.

Moreover, the two of them were no longer young men and women. One was a woman who had already had a husband once, and the other was a man who had long admired that woman.

If this became known in the martial world, they would certainly be engulfed in scandal that could never be recovered from.

“Then I would truly appear as a shameless woman who entrusts her body to just any man.”

“I understand. I didn’t think you would accept either. I just said it.”

“Then leave now. And never come to find me again.”

Venerable Woo-am showed a somewhat sorrowful expression.

“It really seems like this is the last time.”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong paused briefly, then said.

“When the time comes, I will… come to find you.”

If Venerable Woo-am had normal sight, he might have opened his eyes wide in surprise.

“It won’t be anytime soon. It might take a lifetime.”

Venerable Woo-am was so surprised he couldn’t say anything.

“Instead, please meet that child once.”

“That child means…”

“Poison Dragon.”

“I know about him. Taoist Bok-cheon said he lost a bet. I was thinking of seeing his face once anyway.”

“It’s good that you know.”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong quietly bowed her head.

“I don’t know when it will be, but… if the day comes when all the burdens on my heart are lifted, I will change that red cloth on your eyes to blue cloth.”

* * *

Jin Ja-gang began training again.

He got up before dawn and devoted himself to training tirelessly all day long.

Bian Bu and Woon-jeong were amazed.

“Really a determined fellow, really.”

“Right. Does he want to train that much? I found it really bothersome.”

But what was different from before was that Tang Ha-ran, not Soso, was now by Jin Ja-gang’s side. When he rested briefly, she brought him water and they ate meals together.

Woon-jeong in particular couldn’t adapt well to Tang Ha-ran’s changed appearance. The cold and frightening Tang Ha-ran of before and her current appearance were very different.

“That’s how it originally is.”

Bian Bu advised as a senior in life.

“Even the world’s greatest playboy, even the world’s most wicked woman becomes a docile lamb when they fall for one person. Look. The way she looks at him when Poison Dragon is training.”

While Bian Bu was speaking, Tang Ha-ran turned her head to look at Bian Bu. Even though they were over fifty steps apart, she had heard his words.

Tang Ha-ran’s gaze was cold.

Bian Bu flinched and turned his head. Woon-jeong also turned his back.

Bian Bu whispered.

“See there. She doesn’t act that way toward us, right?”

“Yes. She only acts that way toward Poison Dragon.”

Woon-jeong asked Bian Bu.

“But why does she act that way?”

Bian Bu was about to answer when he stared at Woon-jeong incredulously.

“No, I just explained. When men and women fall for each other once…”

Then Woon-jeong saw Soso carrying heavy laundry.

“Ah, miss. Shall I help you?”

Woon-jeong left Bian Bu behind and ran to Soso to help carry her load.

“……”

Left alone, Bian Bu chuckled “heh heh” then let out a long sigh.

“Good times. Spring has come everywhere.”

* * *

Even during training, Jin Ja-gang never missed wandering around mountains other than the Qingcheng sect’s main mountain.

Spring had already come and pale green sprouts were beginning to emerge.

Plant poisons are mainly in seeds and only function properly after summer passes, but there were still plant poisons that could only be obtained in spring. Since little Clear Blood Gland Snake poison remained and all the Glauber’s salt poison had been used, he was searching for new poisons.

Jin Ja-gang asked Tang Ha-ran, who was following behind him.

“Aren’t you bored?”

“Not at all. Since I learned general martial arts rather than poison techniques, what you’re doing is interesting to me.”

It wasn’t a lie. Tang Ha-ran found watching Jin Ja-gang’s actions interesting.

Of course, there was also the aspect of being lovers where even watching him yawn was thrilling. But as someone from a medicine family, seeing his approach to poison was truly refreshing.

“Our family mainly used insect and animal poisons rather than plant poisons. We extract poison liquid and combine it with materials that enhance toxicity to create the finest poisons. The Eight Great Extreme Poisons and Three Absolute Lethal Poisons are our family’s pride that no martial world master can ignore.”

Tang Ha-ran plucked the bracken fern Jin Ja-gang was harvesting with her hand. Then she chewed it like Jin Ja-gang.

“But you’re saying you’ll make poison from bracken fern. Can this really become poison?”

Jin Ja-gang chewed the bracken fern shoots while speaking thoughtfully.

“If you eat bracken fern raw for a long time, your vision becomes dim and bleeding occurs. You can develop leg problems where sensation becomes dull and muscles become paralyzed so you can’t walk, and in severe cases it leads to death.”

“……”

Tang Ha-ran stopped chewing the bracken fern and made a disgusted face. She turned around and secretly spat it out.

Jin Ja-gang laughed.

“Haha, it’s fine. Common people often eat the shoots too.”

“But according to what you just told me, bracken fern is no different from deadly poisonous grass?”

“To become poisonous enough, you’d have to eat an enormous amount. Common people don’t call bracken fern ‘grass’ but call it ‘bracken vegetable.’ I understand they eat it cooked, pickled in salt, or dried. There’s also a folk remedy of eating the roots or stems raw to treat sore throats.”

“You mean it’s not without poison but the toxicity is weak. So you keep chewing bracken fern to extract the poison and accumulate it in your body. Perhaps you have a legendary body immune to all poisons. Even the blood-sucking lice couldn’t touch you before.”

“It’s not exactly like that. The first time is always severely toxic. I always suffer when consuming poison.”

“Then it becomes okay the second time?”

“It seems so. I seem to gradually adapt to poison to a bearable degree.”

Tang Ha-ran trailed off saying.

“But why did the Heart-Stealing Pills have such lasting effects…”

Startled.

Jin Ja-gang silently began plucking bracken fern.

[TL Note – Damn.]

* * *

Jin Ja-gang practiced breathing exercises without sleeping even in the deep night past midnight.

Once Dan Ryeong-gyeong recovered, she would soon want to leave. Jin Ja-gang would also have no excuse to remain at Qingcheng Mountain after that, so he would have to leave together.

Therefore, there was a high possibility he would meet Venerable Woo-am, the sect leader of the Qingcheng sect, before then as Taoist Bok-cheon had promised.

So he had to do his best to raise the level of the Jade Void Nine Light Five Thunder Toad Technique until then. Even if he received teachings, if he couldn’t understand them, he would miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Therefore, Jin Ja-gang concentrated and worked harder than ever before.

Tang Ha-ran also stepped aside without interfering during these times.

Quiet night.

Jin Ja-gang raised Mad Blood Heaven technique in a completely peaceful state. Then he controlled it with the Jade Void Nine Light Five Thunder Toad Technique and circulated it through his right half.

He built dikes at the middle dantian and the Yongquan points on his soles to disperse the rough whirlpools. According to Dan Ryeong-gyeong, there were five types of whirlpools, each representing the energy of the five elements.

Jin Ja-gang didn’t yet fully understand the whirlpool system, but he had succeeded in dividing the whirlpools with two dikes to manage them efficiently.

One more.

Today he wanted to be a bit more ambitious and try to make one more dike.

The Jade Void Nine Light had a total of nine dikes.

Lower dantian. Middle dantian. Upper dantian at Baihui.

Left and right palm centers on both arms, left and right Yongquan points on both feet.

And the Huiyin point between the anus and scrotum, and the Mingmen point at the back of the waist.

Since Jin Ja-gang couldn’t use his left side, even if successful, he could make at most seven dikes, up to Seven Light. Of course, since Dan Ryeong-gyeong had become quite a master with just Five Light, even Seven Light would certainly not be a trivial level.

However, what Jin Ja-gang was being ambitious about this day was the Huiyin point.

He felt like the Huiyin point was particularly opening. This was a change that occurred after spending his first night with Tang Ha-ran. The Huiyin point tingled and the circulation of true energy became smooth.

It was a feeling he hadn’t known before.

So Jin Ja-gang challenged making a dike at the Huiyin point. He gathered internal energy in his qi and blood to firmly block the Huiyin point, then created the shape of a dike to contain it.

Though not easy, he felt it was possible, but it didn’t go as well as expected.

Internal energy kept leaking to other places, only arousing lustful thoughts. Moreover, as lustful thoughts stirred, Tang Ha-ran’s image flickered before him, making even his mind scattered.

‘Why am I like this?’

His heart beat rapidly and soon his lower abdomen became stiff. Jin Ja-gang considered this an inevitable symptom when internal energy infuses vitality throughout the body, so he didn’t think much of it.

However.

“Trying to fill a leaky poison vessel with water recklessly, how could that work?”

A suddenly heard deep voice awakened Jin Ja-gang’s spirit.

“First regulate your breathing. Reduce inhalation and extend exhalation to twice the length of inhalation.”

It was the complete opposite of the dantian breathing method Jin Ja-gang knew.

However, when he did as instructed, his condition immediately changed. As exhalation lengthened, his rapidly beating heart gradually relaxed and tension was relieved. His unstable mind settled.

“Inhalation promotes digestion and makes the movement of lower organs active. I first calmed you by reducing inhalation, but you’ll soon become dizzy again. Abandon distracting thoughts and concentrate.”

Jin Ja-gang concentrated on breathing.

The voice was heard again.

“Now extend inhalation to twice the length of exhalation.”

His heart began beating fast, but since his mood had already calmed, there was no great anxiety.

Instead, as the voice said, the lower organs became active and blood began rushing to his lower abdomen again.

“Stop breathing and hold your breath, then concentrate internal energy to the Huiyin.”

Jin Ja-gang stopped breathing as he said and drove in internal energy. Incomparably more internal energy than before rushed to the Huiyin point, creating a strange feeling. The internal energy boiled and he felt hot energy.

“Pull in your lower abdomen, straighten your waist, and open the Baihui.”

Jin Ja-gang was having difficulty continuing to block as too much internal energy had entered the Huiyin point, so he forcibly endured and opened the Baihui. When the Baihui point opened, particularly cold energies rushed in.

His head spun. The cold energy descended along the Ren meridian to his heated lower abdomen without Jin Ja-gang intending it.

“Now open the Huiyin.”

Jin Ja-gang opened the Huiyin point with a feeling like his bladder would burst.

“Water ascends, fire descends.”

Cold energy went up to his head then descended, descended then ascended. Hot energy also rose and fell accordingly, gradually achieving balance. The generated energy became much larger than before, yet achieved a more stable state than then.

In that state, Jin Ja-gang could very comfortably build a dike at the Huiyin point.