Chapter 152 - Black Flame Dragon in the Midst of Chaos (2)

The matter of the Yueyang Branch Chief was also something Dang Hyeokjae had personally requested of me.

He asked if I knew anyone who could fill the position, as he intended to submit his resignation and leave immediately.

From our brief encounter, I sensed that Dang Hyeokjae tended to find most aspects of daily life annoying.

The mere fact that he applied to the Murim Alliance just to meet me and ended up settling into the Yueyang Branch Chief seat proved it.

'Are all geniuses this weird?'

Considering that Zhuge Cheongi, the greatest genius I knew, was very normal, it didn't seem like all of them were like that, but it was certain they each had a slightly peculiar side.

'As expected, there's no one like my little brother Zhuge Cheongi.'

Anyway, although I received such a request from Dang Hyeokjae, I didn't have anyone I could recommend right away either.

It wasn't like there was anyone from the Taiyi Sect residing in the Murim Alliance, and the connections I had were mostly people who were either hostile to me or whose status in Jianghu prevented them from taking the Branch Chief position.

That was when I thought of Haomun.

Of course, even for Haomun, there was no way they had planted personnel inside the Murim Alliance.

After all, they were a faction for those living at the rock bottom of life.

However, there were a few individuals closely related to Haomun.

People whose weaknesses had been grasped by Haomun, or those who shared profits with them.

Haeryeong said she would sift through such individuals to find someone they could influence, and I agreed.

Either way, if someone who could back Haomun took the Yueyang Branch Chief seat, it was only natural that Haomun's standing in Yueyang would grow even larger.

I was about to conclude our conversation and leave when Haeryeong held me back once more.

"How about this? I will give you five percent of the profits generated by the new taverns and guest houses Haomun opens in Yueyang."

I tilted my head at Haeryeong's out-of-the-blue proposal.

"So suddenly?"

"Both the Yueyang Branch Chief position and the commercial rights in Yueyang were, after all, gained thanks to you, Young Master. We do not remain in debt to our 'Guest'."

Before I could even say anything, Haeryeong declared that it would be so and left the room.

"Thanks to her, I won't have to worry about money for a while."

Even if five percent seemed like a small number, considering it was the profits from businesses operated by Haomun in Yueyang, it would probably be more than I could imagine.

"You're up next."

I picked up the Blood Jade Hand manual first among the Nine Spirits Divine Herb and the Blood Jade Hand placed on the table.

"To think I'd see you here again."

Blood Jade Hand.

One of the Ten Forbidden Arts designated by the Murim Alliance.

It was named as such because the user's two hands would heat up and turn red like crimson pearls.

Contrary to its beautiful appearance, the martial art itself unleashed a horrific destructive power.

The Blood Jade Hand transformed the practitioner's internal energy into a peculiar internal energy called Blood Jade Art.

And a Dantian transformed by the Blood Jade Art would automatically accumulate internal energy even without cultivation.

Once reaching Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, the stage where the three Dantians unified, this bizarre internal energy would strip away the user's reason and turn them into a demon who craved only blood.

Two hundred years ago, the Blood Jade Demonic Emperor single-handedly slaughtered ten thousand people in Shaanxi Province, and one hundred fifty years ago, after the Blood Hand Demon killed fifteen thousand people in Jiangxi Province, it was designated as a forbidden art by the Murim Alliance and sealed away in the Shaolin Sect.

"And then it revealed itself in an unexpected place."

None other than during the Orthodox-Demonic Great War.

The moment the Demonic Cult's Blood Demon Ghost Sword Squad gathered to turn the Shaolin Sect into ashes, a single martial monk from Shaolin stood in their way.

The Blood Demon Ghost Sword Squad, having already turned hundreds of monks into corpses, considered the martial monk laughable and charged at him.

That day, half of the widely infamous Blood Demon Ghost Sword Squad became wandering ghosts at the hands of that martial monk.

The identity of that martial monk was Ilmyeong's junior brother and the one who had competed with me for the top student position, Ilgak.

And the martial art Ilgak used back then was none other than the sealed Blood Jade Hand.

At the time, Jianghu fiercely protested Ilgak's use of the Blood Jade Hand despite the critical situation.

However, the Shaolin Sect remained unshaken despite the public criticism.

"The Blood Jade Hand has been purified by the Buddha's grace and shall become a shield that protects justice."

Enraged by these shameless words, many vowed to strike down the Shaolin Sect the moment Ilgak lost his reason, but Ilgak never lost his reason, even after reaching the Transcendent Realm.

On the contrary, the Blood Jade Hand that Ilgak had mastered boasted a tremendous Demon-Subduing effect, making it highly effective against demonic practitioners.

Many wondered how he had avoided losing his reason despite learning a demonic art, but the Shaolin Sect kept the secret until the very end as they safely reached the North Sea.

"Haeryeong must have given me this to use as a weapon."

The Blood Jade Hand secret manual was essentially a trump card that could be used to frame an opponent with the suspicion of practicing demonic arts.

However, it was a weapon that would never work on those with great power and influence, like the Nine Sects and One Gang or the 108 Peaks.

"And just like Ilgak, I won't lose my reason even if I use the Blood Jade Hand."

Without hesitation, I quickly read through the Blood Jade Hand.

Then, I began to circulate my internal energy according to the mnemonic chants of the Blood Jade Art.

My hands began to heat up and turn red, igniting the Blood Jade Hand secret manual in my grasp.

FWOOSH.

Rather than the crimson flames typical of the Blood Jade Hand, it produced a yellow flame that was closer to gold.

It was the exact image of what the Shaolin Sect had renamed in the past: the Holy Fire Demon-Extinguishing Hand.

"It really is fascinating that a demonic art like the Blood Jade Hand gains a Demon-Subduing effect."

The secret lay in higher-tier energy like the Vajra Power.

The Taiji Aura of the Wudang Sect and the Three Purities Power of the Three Purities Formless Sword. Vajra Power allowed one to use the Blood Jade Hand without side effects.

With a single wave of my hand, the light that had brightened the room like broad daylight vanished in an instant.

Even when I touched the hand that boasted enough firepower to turn paper into ashes, I couldn't feel any heat.

"There's definitely a reason why the Shaolin Sect risked being misunderstood to keep this secret."

I didn't know what would happen in the future, but as of right now, I was the only person who wouldn't be suspected even after using the Blood Jade Hand.

"The internal energy consumption is definitely massive, though."

I had to convert the internal energy in my Dantian into Okcheong Heavenly Star Power and then use that as the Blood Jade Hand.

It was a method that anyone without a substantial amount of internal energy wouldn't even dare to dream of.

I then turned my gaze to the Nine Spirits Divine Herb.

Here lay another opportunity to make up for my lack of internal energy.

"Though it's ambiguous to call it something strictly good."

The Nine Spirits Divine Herb was a spiritual elixir containing a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. In Daoist sects, it was sometimes called the Nine Immortals Herb, with the names of gods attached to each of its nine stems.

The peculiar thing was that this Nine Spirits Divine Herb had to be consumed whole.

If the stems were consumed separately, the spiritual veins would break and the efficacy would vanish.

It was such a finicky spiritual herb that ordinary physicians wouldn't even dare to use it.

In short, it had to be consumed all at once, which meant it was also a poisonous herb that could kill you if you failed to suppress its energy.

This was the exact reason why the Yuwol Sect Leader, a martial artist himself, tried to offer it as a bribe to the Mount Cangshan Sect instead of consuming it himself.

"The records say not to eat it."

The Jianghu Spiritual Elixir Record stated that the Sun Sword Emperor, who once swept through Jianghu, turned into a puddle of blood after eating the Nine Spirits Divine Herb.

Considering that the Sun Sword Emperor was known to have possessed four gapja of internal energy at the time, the Nine Spirits Divine Herb was practically closer to a poison than a spiritual elixir.

I had also looked through the Life and Death Divine Physician's Ten Thousand Herb Treasure Record with a shred of hope, and this was what he wrote about the Nine Spirits Divine Herb:

[If you find a Nine Spirits Divine Herb, throw it into a brazier and use it as firewood.]

[Then you will have a fire that does not go out for half a year.]

He wrote it quite elegantly, but...

In short, it meant not to recklessly shove just anything into your trap.

I stared at the Nine Spirits Divine Herb with a bitter expression.

How many people had I saved and how much help had I received thanks to the Life and Death Divine Physician over the years?

"I really should listen to the doctor's words."

Right now, my internal energy was just over three gapja.

Considering that Yong So-ah reached three gapja around this same age, I was slightly ahead.

If I were to absorb the Nine Spirits Divine Herb on top of that, it meant I could surpass not the Yong So-ah of the past, but the internal energy of the current Yong So-ah.

I really should listen to the doctor's words, but...

After a moment of deliberation, I made my decision.

"... Doctor, I'm sorry. It seems fighting so many demonic practitioners in the past has left me with a few screws loose."

Carrying an apologetic heart toward the Life and Death Divine Physician, I picked up the Nine Spirits Divine Herb.

I had come up with some countermeasures.

If eating it was a no-go, I could just absorb it. Hadn't I mastered the Great Star-Absorbing Art, which was categorized as one of the Four Evil Arts among the Ten Forbidden Arts designated by the Murim Alliance?

"With the Jade Dragon Bracelet, I should be able to cut it off midway. I'm trusting you, you sacred artifact of the Demonic Cult."

I reached out and activated the Jade Dragon Bracelet.

A blue-green light emanated from my wrist as a dragon motif emerged.

Soon after, the Jade Dragon Bracelet's energy detected the energy of the Nine Spirits Divine Herb and slowly began to draw in its spiritual power.

Since I had to be ready to throw the Nine Spirits Divine Herb away at any moment, I slowly adjusted the speed.

However.

"Uh-oh."

Contrary to my will, the Jade Dragon Bracelet began sucking in the spiritual power like crazy, as if it had found a delicious prey.

At the same time, the dried-up Nine Spirits Divine Herb began to regain its vitality.

It was a miraculously strange sight, like a dead tree coming back to life, but I didn't even have time to be surprised before I was overwhelmed by the true qi rapidly filling my Dantian.

'I'm screwed.'

No matter how many Microcosmic Orbits or Macrocosmic Orbits I circulated, the sheer amount of true qi showed no signs of diminishing.

It was completely unmanageable, like trying to forcefully pour the entirety of Dongting Lake into a fixed-size leather waterskin.

'I have to pry it off.'

But for some reason, my entire body had stiffened completely.

With a desperate will, I unfurled my fingers.

CRACK, CRACK-CRACK.

When I forcefully straightened my fingers that had gone as stiff as solid tree branches, I was once again flabbergasted.

'Shit, what is this!'

The Nine Spirits Divine Herb began to levitate in the air on its own.

And it continued to supply spiritual power all the while.

It was enough to drive someone absolutely insane.

'Damn it!'

My Dantian was overflowing with true qi as if it were about to burst, and my blood vessels began to swell from the excessive true qi.

My hands and feet expanded to grotesquely thick proportions as veins bulged out bizarrely.

'I'm going to die...'

Although the spiritual power coming through the Jade Dragon Bracelet had been purified to a degree, the sheer quantity was simply too massive.

I had tried to absorb the Nine Spirits Divine Herb through the Jade Dragon Bracelet precisely to prevent this kind of situation, but that damn spiritual elixir wasn't even allowing that.

'If only there was someone who could execute the Dual Origin True Qi transfer, the worst-case scenario could be prevented.'

But my body and muscles, frozen stiff by the spiritual power of the Nine Spirits Divine Herb, prevented me from making even a sliver of a sound.

CLACK.

"Senior Brother!"

Right then, like a ray of light, Geumpyo barged in with a flushed, beet-red face.

Thank god, as expected of my juni...

"Hiccup. We're having a banquet out there, so what in the world are you doing in here all alone?"

'Is this bastard drunk...?'

Holding a liquor bottle in one hand, Geumpyo scanned the room with half-closed eyes before spotting me and snapping his eyes wide open.

'Yes! Hurry up and go fetch people!'

I spoke to Geumpyo with a desperate gaze, and as if reading my eyes, Geumpyo nodded.

"You're dedicating yourself to your training even at this hour. I apologize for interrupting you, Senior Brother."

Th-That's not it!

"What a profoundly mysterious sight. I cannot help but respect you more with each passing day, Senior Brother. I will firmly instruct the others so that absolutely no one approaches."

I-I'm telling you, that's not it!!!

I screamed with all my might.

'Fetch someone, you bastard!!'

But Geumpyo utterly misunderstood my desperate internal cry, shot me a thumbs-up, and walked out, closing the door behind him.

It was over.

At this rate, it wouldn't just end with qi deviation.

Just like the Sun Sword Emperor, it was obvious I would transform into a puddle of bloody gore.

'Dying from eating a spiritual elixir... what kind of bullshit humiliation is this?'

Desperate to avoid being remembered forever as 'the idiot who died eating a spiritual elixir he was told not to eat', I racked my brain frantically.

What I needed right now was to expel the true qi filling my body.

But I couldn't move my body.

If so, I had to expel the true qi without moving.

And fortunately, I had learned the Blood Jade Hand before trying to consume the Nine Spirits Divine Herb.

VWOOM.

I converted the true qi into Okcheong Heavenly Star Power and desperately unleashed the Holy Fire Demon-Extinguishing Hand.

Golden flames blossomed from my right hand and began burning away the true qi absorbed by the Jade Dragon Bracelet.

'Phew.'

As I executed the Holy Fire Demon-Extinguishing Hand with full force, I could feel the true qi stuffing my body draining away bit by bit.

Its efficiency was so poor that I originally thought I wouldn't be able to use it frequently like the Radiant Heaven Divine Palm.

But right now, this Holy Fire Demon-Extinguishing Hand was saving my life.

However, my relief was short-lived.

'What the hell.'

Now, the Nine Spirits Divine Herb began to absorb the heat energy of the Holy Fire Demon-Extinguishing Hand.

And the Jade Dragon Bracelet then reabsorbed the energy of the Nine Spirits Divine Herb that had absorbed the Holy Fire Demon-Extinguishing Hand's energy.

A hollow chuckle escaped me at this nonsensical, absurd situation.

'What kind of...'

Furthermore, by some bizarre turn of events, the energy of the true qi entering through the Jade Dragon Bracelet was boiling hot, as if it had fully retained the energy of the Holy Fire Demon-Extinguishing Hand.

On top of my body feeling like it was going to explode from the accumulated true qi, an unbearable heat had started to flood in.

'Ah, this must be how the Sun Sword Emperor died.'

I had discovered the inner workings behind the Sun Sword Emperor's death, which had been unknown to the world, but I wasn't happy about it at all.

Because now it was my turn to die that way.

Just as I was praying that my facial features would at least remain so they could hold a funeral for me, a change began to occur inside my body.

'Huh?'

The unbearable heat that felt like it would melt my entire body traveled through my blood vessels and began swallowing the blocked true qi.

Having swollen in size like that, the heat proceeded to swallow the impurities remaining in my blood vessels, hidden meridians, and fine meridians, one by one.

As the blocked true qi and murky qi began to be cleared out, the subsequent true qi that flooded in moved smoothly.

Surpassing their volumetric limit, the true qi began seeping into my damaged skin and muscles.

CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.

Even as the sounds of bones grinding and muscles tearing continuously rang out, I couldn't let out a single groan.

No, I didn't have the time to pay attention to that. If the heat surging through my body strayed even an inch, it would turn me into an idiot or burn all my internal organs to a crisp.

'Maybe I can live!'

Regardless of whether my body broke or not, I poured all my concentration into the heat.

It was a moment that required meticulous control of true qi that couldn't even be compared to when I was manipulating the Flying Dragon Claw.

Even after burning away all the impurities in the Conception and Governing Vessels, the heat did not subside, and I ultimately sent the heat through my meridians and down into my fine meridians.

Agony assaulted minute areas that I normally couldn't even feel.

The pain of having all eighty-four thousand pores pierced with needles one by one and having my nerves singed with fire continued.

"Urgh..."

The pain was so severe that a groan, which hadn't come out when I desperately tried to shout, slipped out.

POP.

The sound of something bursting inside my body echoed in my head.

Before I could even recognize what the source of the sound was, more bursting sounds followed.

POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP.

And alongside the sound of air bursting, the agony that had assailed every single pore and nerve line faded away, and a refreshing sensation began to take hold.

"Haa..."

White smoke billowed from my mouth along with a long sigh.

At the same time, steam began to emit from my entire body through my pores.

SSSSSS.

The sound of a boiling pot rang out as my body gently floated into the air.

Despite experiencing this bizarre phenomenon, I was completely absorbed in this state of total comfort.

The pressure that had suffocated my entire body, the heat that had singed my nerves, and the pain that had pierced my pores were all completely gone.

The internal energy that had been violently rushing through my blood vessels began to be gathered into my Dantian, and the murky qi leftover from cleansing my body erupted outward in all directions toward my opened pores.

SWOOSH.

Spreading out like a soft breeze, the internal energy enveloped my surroundings, cradling me like a flower bud before scattering completely.

"Ah... is this the Jade Stamen Golden Flower stage?"

It hadn't been long since I achieved the Five Dragons Revering the Saint stage, yet I had skipped right over the Sun and Moon Uniting stage and reached the Jade Stamen Golden Flower stage.

"..."

I tried clenching and unclenching my fist.

I rolled my shoulders and repeatedly lifted and lowered my legs.

My body felt as light as if I had cast off a massive weight.

I picked up my sword and tried executing Sword Force.

The Sword Force I had learned just a few days ago flowed through my hand like an old habit.

Furthermore, my Dantian was brimming with a ridiculous amount of internal energy—four gapja.

I was still short of Bang Duchil, but I had surpassed the level of Yong So-ah.

The amount of internal energy wasn't the absolute measure of combat prowess, but still, beating that monster-like Yong So-ah in even one aspect like internal energy was a huge feat.

"It's a fortuitous encounter..."

A joyful feeling welled up from deep within my chest.

"Life and Death Divine Physician, it seems I was right this time. Hahaha."

For some reason, I felt like the Life and Death Divine Physician would flip me the bird with a scowl if he saw me right now, but regardless, the result was good, wasn't it?

From now on, I was fully intending to throw around money and enjoy a boat ride on Dongting Lake.

Of course, there was one punk I needed to deal with before that.

"How dare you drink while your Senior Brother is devoting himself to his training?"

I wasn't acting like this because he'd completely ignored the fact that I was in a life-threatening crisis.

At Geumpyo's realm, it was only natural that he couldn't tell if my state was a moment of danger or a state of training.

But for him to show up drunk right next to his Senior Brother who was working himself to death training—wasn't that just plain wrong?

I absolutely wasn't holding a grudge here.

As the Eldest Senior Brother of the highly traditional Taiyi Sect, this was merely my burning desire for my juniors to walk the right path.

"You're dead meat!"