Almighty God of War - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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019

The unpleasant encounter at the Blue Cloud Inn seemed to have soured Heo Churyeong’s mood, but Guyang Cheongang himself appeared completely unfazed.

After leaving the noisy inn behind and stepping back onto the bustling street, he was the first to speak.

“Elder Sister, do you happen to know where the largest medicinal herb market in Nanchang is? Would it be alright if I asked you to guide me there?”

Heo Churyeong, still feeling apologetic about Hwa Doryeong’s earlier rudeness, nodded readily despite her puzzlement at his sudden request.

“Of course. There’s a medicinal herb district nearby that boasts the largest scale in all of Jiangxi Province.”

Following her guidance through several narrow alleyways, a completely different and unique fragrance began to tickle his nostrils.

It was a rich aroma of various medicinal herbs mixed together – spicy yet fragrant, sometimes earthy, and other times sweet yet bitter.

Soon, the source of that fragrance – a massive medicinal herb market – spread out before Guyang Cheongang’s eyes.

Endless rows of street stalls and medicinal herb shops of all sizes were packed tightly along both sides of the road.

The air was filled with the sounds of herbs being ground in mortars, chopped with cleavers, and the bustling chatter of people selecting medicinal materials.

Unlike the shabby street stalls, the larger medicinal herb shops each displayed elegant signboards.

Those who frequented such places appeared to be mainly physicians, martial artists, or servants from wealthy families.

Turning the corner of the main street, a massive three-story pavilion that dwarfed all the surrounding shops revealed its imposing presence.

On the signboard, intricately carved with dragons and phoenixes, the characters ‘Manbodang’ were inscribed in gold leaf.

Heo Choryeong spoke with undisguised bitterness.

“That’s Manbodang, Nanchang’s premier medicinal herb shop operated by the Hwa Family Trading House. It’s no exaggeration to say that most of the precious medicinal herbs from Jiangxi Province pass through there.”

Guyang Cheongang’s gaze lingered momentarily on that massive medicinal herb shop.

‘The Hwa Family Trading House… That bastard Hwa Doryeong’s family clan. It certainly lives up to its reputation as Nanchang’s premier medicinal herb shop with that tremendous scale.’

He nodded indifferently and then moved toward other street stalls.

Guyang Cheongang occasionally asked Heo Churyeong questions, pretending to discuss medicinal herbs, but his real interest lay elsewhere.

He constantly picked up herbs, and each time he did, Akasha explored and analyzed their medicinal components and the energy they contained.

There was a specific reason why Guyang Cheongang showed such deep interest in Nanchang’s medicinal herb market.

It was due to a realization he had gained during his three months of seclusion while perfecting the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art.

The Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art was a martial technique that contained the principle of absorbing the extreme yin energy accumulated in the nine major acupoints of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians and converting it into energy necessary for sustaining life.

One day, Guyang Cheongang suddenly had this thought.

‘If the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art can handle the extreme yin energy of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, couldn’t it also absorb and convert all other forms of energy that exist in the world?’

If this hypothesis could be realized, his desperate struggle for survival would face a completely different phase.

He immediately began cautious experiments under Akasha’s precise analysis and thorough safety control while staying at the Guyang Family Estate.

The first target was the food he consumed daily.

Instead of eating food, he attempted to absorb the minute energy contained within it using only the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art.

The results were astonishing.

Although the pure energy obtainable from food was extremely small, he could safely store the energy.

There was also the risk of absorbing impure energy, but thanks to Akasha’s sophisticated energy filtering system, there was no danger.

Confirming his success, his heart pounded with excitement.

The second experimental target was the medicinal herbs he usually took due to the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

With raw medicinal herbs placed before him, he once again operated the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art.

[Doctor, the energy contained in medicinal herbs is much purer and more powerful than food. Especially with high-grade medicinal herbs where nature’s essence is concentrated, both the purity and quantity of energy increase dramatically. The absorption efficiency is also incomparably higher than with food.]

As Akasha’s analysis indicated, he succeeded in absorbing rich and pure energy from medicinal herbs that was incomparable to food.

These two successful experiments instilled confidence in him.

That’s why he came to Nanchang’s medicinal herb market.

Through Akasha’s real-time analysis, he planned to find a ‘special energy source’ that could provide him with large amounts of pure energy.

If successful, he could dramatically reduce the time needed to secure the vast internal energy – at least thirty years’ worth for each stage – required to treat the nine major acupoints.

Guyang Cheongang’s expression gradually darkened as he wandered through every corner of Nanchang’s medicinal herb market with Heo Choryeong.

Countless herbs entered his sight, but Akasha’s real-time analysis results were consistently disappointing.

Most were just ordinary herbs with common medicinal effects, or even if somewhat rare, no spirit herbs with the ‘special energy’ capable of dramatically advancing his Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art caught his eye.

[Doctor, among the herbs analyzed so far, no specimens containing meaningful high-concentration energy that meets your criteria have been found. Most don’t exceed general physiological activity levels.]

The greater his expectations had been, the more disappointment washed over him like waves.

Medicinal herbs of this level were woefully inadequate to achieve his goals.

Eventually, he cautiously asked Heo Choryeong, who had been watching him with curious eyes.

“Sister Choryeong, are spirit herbs like decades-old wild ginseng or century-old He Shou Wu not traded in this Nanchang market? No matter how much I look around, I don’t see any items with such energy.”

At his specific question, Heo Choryeong smiled and shook her head.

“Gang-je, such top-grade spirit herbs are hard to find in markets.”

“Then where should one obtain such items?”

“Even if such precious spirit herbs appear in the world, they’re secretly traded among those in the know in the blink of an eye. There are many seekers but limited goods, so sellers can name their price. More often than not, you can’t obtain them even with money.”

She paused briefly, then added with a regretful expression.

“Moreover, most spirit herb habitats and rare medicinal herb distribution are first monopolized by prestigious major sects or the Imperial Court, or they fall into their hands right from the source. The amount released to general markets is truly minimal, or mostly what’s left after they’ve used what they need.”

Disappointed Guyang Cheongang’s brow furrowed deeply.

‘Should I go deep into the mountains myself and search for spiritual medicines like a herb gatherer…?’

Heo Choryeong’s words made him face reality.

‘This way, it’ll be difficult to obtain medicinal herbs of the level I want.’

He felt bitter.

‘Was finding a ‘special energy source’ in the market that could dramatically enhance the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art a vain expectation from the start…?’

Just then, Guyang Cheongang’s eyes fell upon a magnificent three-story bookstore.

On the pavilion’s signboard, the characters ‘Namchang Library’ were written with vigorous strokes.

“Elder Sister, would it be alright if we stopped by that library for a moment?”

Knowing well how much he loved books, Heo Choryeong nodded.

“Perfect. I actually had some books I wanted to buy too.”

The interior of the library was filled with countless books.

Guyang Cheongang passed by sections with classics like the Four Books and Three Classics or poetry collections without even glancing at them.

His goal was solely practical books related to commerce, distribution, production techniques of this era, and regional specialties.

Such information would enrich Akasha’s database and greatly help in materializing his ‘plan.’

His steps suddenly stopped in front of a bookshelf in one corner.

There, about a hundred faded medical-related books were shelved.

‘Perhaps…’

He began rapidly scanning through the books.

His page-turning was so fast that Heo Choryeong, watching from beside him, could hardly tell whether he was reading the content or just flipping pages.

Of course, she couldn’t even imagine that in those brief moments, Guyang Cheongang’s eyes and Akasha’s system were perfectly scanning and even understanding all the book’s contents.

It took less than two hours for Guyang Cheongang to read through all hundred books.

Most merely repeated the contents of known medical texts, but records of rare medicinal herb effects or unique pulse diagnosis methods became useful data for Akasha.

Having examined all the books on the shelf, Guyang Cheongang turned his gaze toward hundreds of old books carelessly stacked on the floor.

Those were also medical-related books.

Then, strangely, one particular book among them strongly caught his attention.

It was thick enough to span three adult finger joints, and its cover was yellowed with age, telling of long years.

On the cover was written the grandiose title ‘Heavenly Secret Blood Medicine Manual,’ though the characters were fading away.

Feeling strong curiosity, he picked up the Heavenly Secret Blood Medicine Manual.

A heavy weight was transmitted to his hands.

The first dozen or so pages of the book had turned black from the hand stains of countless people, but strangely, the pages after that were as clean as a new book.

This meant that most people who had gotten their hands on this book had read only a little of the beginning before giving up.

Turning the cover, the author’s preface caught his eye.

I devoted my entire life to medical arts, yet always yearned for a connection with martial arts.

However, my innate talent was too humble to dare set foot on the path of martial learning.

Still unable to abandon this attachment, I spent my lifetime researching the harmony between medical arts and martial arts through theory, observation, and with help from a friend whose martial arts had reached the realm of seamless perfection.

This book is a record of those insufficient realizations.

I declare that for pure physicians who know nothing of martial arts principles, this book could rather be poison, so do not attempt to read it.

Only a martial artist who can feel and control the flow of qi within their own body, while simultaneously having deep understanding in the medical arts of treating illness, would be able to comprehend and further develop my lifelong research.

I earnestly hope that a wise person of future generations will continue this incomplete exploration.

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes lit up after reading the preface.

‘A book written by a physician who couldn’t learn martial arts, for physicians who know martial arts…’

Feeling a sense of destiny, he chose the Heavenly Secret Blood Medicine Manual without hesitation.

Heo Choryeong cast a puzzled glance at the worn appearance of the book he had selected, but seeing his satisfied expression, she didn’t ask any more questions.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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