Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 26
* * *
“I’ve discovered where the Emperor’s Sword might be.”
Crash!
Before the words had finished leaving his lips, a massive vase flew through the air and shattered against the wall into countless fragments.
Ragged, furious breathing filled the darkened room.
“That man… he’s truly… still alive…?”
Rage surged through his blood, flushing his face crimson.
The sword scar that bisected his face writhed with fury.
His identity was Namgung Mohyeon.
The mastermind behind the assassination plot against Namgung Unhyeon—his half-brother.
The sword scar on his face, attributed to wounds sustained during a battle with the Demonic Sect, had actually been inflicted by Namgung Unhyeon’s blade on that day at Seolhon Mountain.
Though he had sought treatment from countless renowned physicians with every available remedy, the deep wound had etched itself permanently into Namgung Mohyeon’s flesh, a scar that would never fade.
“Yes. The very fact that no body was found should have raised suspicion from the start.”
That final battle with Namgung Unhyeon at Seolhon Mountain.
Even as his body deteriorated from ingesting various poisons and the relentless pursuit, Namgung Unhyeon had fought on until the bitter end.
His blade had carved through the snow-covered mountain, and he had buried all the martial masters of Seolhon Mountain—including himself—beneath the drifts.
Namgung Mohyeon had barely escaped with his life, and afterward had gone searching for Namgung Unhyeon’s corpse, but it was never found.
“Alive… he survived in that wrecked body after all.”
Hehehehe… Khehehehehe!
“What a stubborn life force!”
Stubborn, truly stubborn!!!
More than stubborn—disgustingly, pathetically tenacious!
“And yet he refuses to let go of everything he possessed…!”
Namgung Mohyeon’s eyes gleamed with malice.
He issued an order to his subordinate.
“Send a letter to Gwang Do.”
“To… to Gwang Do of the Pado School…?”
“Yes.”
His subordinate’s expression turned to shock.
The Pado School.
Originally an orthodox martial faction devoted to the study of the blade, it had begun to be treated as a heterodox sect due to its inclination toward ruthlessness and a series of incidents that had occurred years ago.
It occupied an ambiguous position between orthodox and unorthodox.
Rumors had circulated recently that it was making efforts to regain the Murim Alliance’s recognition.
“You intend to seek the Pado School’s assistance?”
“Not assistance. I mean to use them.”
“But the Pado School cannot possibly match the Emperor’s Sword…”
“They will be able to.”
A cruel smile spread across Namgung Mohyeon’s lips.
“He may still draw breath after suffering the poison at Hyeoldanjang Mountain, but he is not truly alive. If the Master of the Pado School moves personally, it is hardly impossible.”
The Master of the Pado School’s Martial Prowess is renowned throughout the Murim, counted among the very finest.
They say his ability rivals that of the Ten Great Masters—he would certainly be a match for Namgung Unhyeon in his current state.
“Will the Master of the Pado School move personally?”
“We must offer him appropriate compensation.”
A marriage alliance with the Namgung Clan, for instance.
The Master of the Pado School desires connections with the Murim Alliance; he will surely cooperate as desired.
‘How old is my lovely niece this year again?’
Namgung Mohyeon’s mouth twisted in a sickly grin.
* * *
“Those thugs you were waiting for.”
What could those words have meant?
After Am Yeong Ma Gun had departed, Unhyeon could not shake those words from his mind.
If those whom Am Yeong Ma Gun had called thugs were anyone, they would be a search party sent from the Central Plains.
His true people, who would risk their lives to come all this way in search of even his corpse.
‘No, wait.’
Not all those who came searching for a body could be trusted.
Some among them might be wearing the mask of a search party while coming to kill him.
‘Then how could I distinguish those I could truly trust…?’
The more Unhyeon deliberated, the more his mind became tangled like a skein of thread.
Yet he could not stop thinking.
“Grandfather!”
Unhyeon’s eyes snapped open.
A large face filled his entire vision.
Yeonwoo had drawn so close to the unresponsive Unhyeon that his face was inches away.
“…Yeonwoo.”
“Come on! We have to go!”
We have to climb the mountain!
Yeonwoo pointed to the tall peak that rose sharply before the house.
Dawn had broken, the sky just beginning to lighten.
Lost in thought after Am Yeong Ma Gun’s departure, Unhyeon had spent the night awake without realizing it.
But such a thing brought no fatigue to Unhyeon.
“Yes, let’s go.”
Unhyeon rose from his seat.
‘For now…’
For now, let me focus on Yeonwoo’s training.
Whatever comes from the Central Plains, whether someone truly finds me or not.
That can wait.
Unhyeon watched Yeonwoo, whose feet were fidgeting with impatience.
* * *
“Close your eyes and feel the flow of Qi coursing through your body.”
At the mountain’s peak.
On a high rock, the two sat differently than on other days when they had meditated side by side.
Yeonwoo sat in cross-legged position, and Unhyeon settled behind the child.
“Is this another sense training exercise?”
Like feeling the wind and sensing the air?
“Do you remember Qi Sensing that I spoke of before?”
“Yes.”
“We are training that sensation.”
Unhyeon placed his hand on Yeonwoo’s back.
“From now on, I will channel my Inner Power into your body to circulate through your meridians. To put it simply, think of it as my Qi flowing in a circuit through your body.”
“Hmm…”
Yeonwoo’s brow furrowed slightly.
He had no idea what that meant.
“Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. For now, I will assist your Qi Regulation Breathing, so experience it directly and come to understand.”
Whissssh—
A faint blue radiance of Inner Power rose softly from Unhyeon’s body.
The inner force he drew up flowed through his arm, into his hand, and gradually entered Yeonwoo’s body.
Yeonwoo’s body trembled slightly.
“Well done. Keep your mouth closed, do not move, and breathe slowly while focusing on the flow.”
When it comes to wielding Qi, the most important thing is feeling Qi itself.
Only when one senses the Qi scattered throughout heaven and earth, and awakens to its presence, can one truly grasp it.
In that regard, Yeonwoo, whose Qi Sensing was exceptional, had already transcended what was considered the most difficult stage—simply feeling Qi.
Beyond merely sensing, he had progressed to detecting and responding, which meant learning the Heart Method would be considerably smoother.
Whissssh—
Unhyeon’s Qi descended very slowly toward Yeonwoo’s Dantian.
It lingered briefly at the Dantian, slowly circling the place where Am Yeong Ma Gun had laid the foundation.
“This is your Lower Dantian. When you become capable of holding Qi within yourself, think of this place as the chamber where that power resides.”
Meanwhile, Unhyeon’s Qi was steadily gathering into Yeonwoo’s Dantian.
Before beginning the Heavenly Circulation, he was drawing Qi into Yeonwoo’s Dantian to ensure the flow would not break.
“From now on, this Qi will ascend through the Governing Vessel and return here through the Conception Vessel. I will slowly recite that path for you, so remember it as best you can.”
Unhyeon began the Heavenly Circulation.
The Qi moved toward the lowest point of the body before ascending.
“This is called the Meeting of Yin acupoint.”
Unhyeon’s Qi rose slowly.
The flow of Qi moved steadily, filling the meridians completely.
This was Unhyeon’s consideration, so that Yeonwoo might sense the flow all the more clearly.
“The Long Strong acupoint at the base of the spine.”
Gate of Life at the lower back. Spirit Platform along the back. Greater Vertebra at the nape of the neck. Wind Mansion above the nape…
Following the Governing Vessel, the Qi that flowed slowly had already passed through the crown of Yeonwoo’s head.
“This is the Hundred Convergence acupoint at the crown. After passing through here, the Qi will descend, so follow carefully.”
Then the Qi began to descend slowly through the Conception Vessel.
Passing through the Third Eye, the Philtrum, the Jade Fluid point at the throat, the Chest Center, the Solar Plexus, and the Sea of Qi in the lower belly.
And finally, the Qi gathered once more in Yeonwoo’s Dantian.
Traversing some fifty Meridian acupoints along the Conception and Governing Vessels combined, it had returned to its starting place.
Whoooosh—
Unhyeon withdrew his own Qi.
Once he had gathered all his Qi back, he opened his eyes and lifted his hand from Yeonwoo’s back.
Presently, Yeonwoo opened his eyes.
Unhyeon turned Yeonwoo’s body around to face him.
“Do you understand what it was now?”
Yeonwoo’s eyes gleamed with a bright spark.
“Yeah.”
“Show me. Describe it.”
“Something gathered here—”
Yeonwoo placed his hand on his own navel.
“It went up from here, and then came back down.”
His fingers traced up the spine, over the crown of his head, then flowed downward across the front of his face in a smooth motion.
Unhyeon’s lips curved in a gentle smile.
“Precisely right. You’ve grasped it well.”
“It was kind of like what Am Yeong taught me.”
“Yes, I imagine so.”
The Chasing Palace Acupoint Technique likewise moves through the Meridians.
“What you’ve just done is the Minor Heavenly Circulation. I guided your Qi through your Conception and Governing Vessels.”
“Yeah.”
“For now, I will guide your Heavenly Circulation, but eventually you must do this yourself.”
“How? I don’t have that whoosh, whoosh thing.”
“The Qi of heaven and earth already surrounds you abundantly. From now on, with each breath you take, imagine drawing in that scattered Qi.”
Yeonwoo inhaled sharply with a loud breath.
His cheeks puffed out, and he tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
Unhyeon smiled softly and drew a deep breath himself.
“When you inhale, you receive the Qi.”
Then he exhaled slowly.
“When you exhale, settle the Qi you’ve taken in.”
Whoosh—
Unhyeon touched his fingertips together and rested them gently over his Dantian, closing his eyes softly.
Yeonwoo followed suit.
He cracked one eye open to verify he was following correctly, then closed them again in a drowsy squint.
“You circulate that Qi slowly through your body.”
“Hmm…”
“To regulate your breath and let your Qi flow.”
Unhyeon opened his eyes and gazed at Yeonwoo.
Watching the child with eyes half-open, barely pretending to concentrate, he couldn’t help but curl his lips in amusement.
This is called Qi Regulation Breathing.

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