Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 201

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

Chapter 201

“What’s that? Monstrous Poison Gate?”

“That’s correct. A large number of personnel are currently being deployed to Aenoe Mountain.”

“These bastards…”

At Bang Yeoncho’s report, who was serving as chief advisor during the Wild Spirit Festival, Third Elder Jeong Haeryong’s face flushed red with anger.

An unexpected encounter with a spirit beast.

This was an unforeseen event.

Though there had been Zhuge Munhyeon’s request, as the one in charge of the Wild Spirit Festival, he had to quickly withdraw the warriors to minimize damage.

Then he had to contact Bongung and immediately organize a search team to find Zhuge Munhyeon.

But their current forces were weak.

Newly adult warriors, beaters, searchers, trackers.

They alone were insufficient.

Hadn’t they seen it?

The presence emanating from that giant tiger was enough to make one’s hair stand on end and body tremble.

They needed Bongung’s forces.

Real search teams like Tamrang and Yeongrang.

Powerful warriors like Heukho, Geumrin, and the Flying Dragon members who could fight that damn tiger.

Though he was worried about Zhuge Munhyeon’s safety, they had to wait until Bongung’s forces arrived before moving.

But the news brought by the warriors monitoring Aenoe Mountain was shocking.

Monstrous Poison Gate’s main forces had moved into Aenoe Mountain.

That meant.

“These bastards intend to claim the spirit beast.”

“It appears so.”

“Damn bastards…”

Deep furrows formed on Jeong Haeryong’s brow.

While conducting the Wild Spirit Festival on Aenoe Mountain, their surveillance personnel had been spread throughout the area.

Since Aenoe Mountain served as a buffer zone between the two factions, this was a natural measure.

So they too would have seen it.

That spirit beast.

They couldn’t help but covet it.

Also, seeing Beast Palace withdraw, they wanted to move quickly to claim it first.

The tiger they had seen was a spirit beast rarely encountered even in Yunnan.

“A subordinate reported seeing white snake markings.”

“The Dark Combat Unit has been deployed?”

“Yes.”

The Dark Combat Unit was a force raised by Monstrous Poison Gate for espionage and assassination purposes.

They were skilled in searching and tracking.

“Damn, does this mean it’s only a matter of time before the Poison Blood Squad is deployed too?”

“I think so as well. Once the Dark Combat Unit finds the tiger, capture will immediately follow.”

“Hmm…”

As Jeong Haeryong frowned and pressed his forehead, a subordinate warrior asked worriedly.

“What will you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“They might claim the spirit beast first. It will take at least a full day for the warriors sent from Bongung to arrive… Shouldn’t we prepare something before Monstrous Poison Gate gets their hands on the spirit beast? For now, what’s available is the Young Lady’s guards…”

“Listen here, Yeoncho.”

“…Yes?”

Bang Yeoncho, who had been expressing his thoughts, stopped speaking at Jeong Haeryong’s somewhat heavier tone.

“Are your words now aimed at searching for Confucius Zhuge, or are they driven by greed for the spirit beast?”

“That, that is…”

“Don’t be confused. What’s important to us isn’t the spirit beast. It’s Confucius Zhuge’s safety.”

At those cold words, Bang Yeoncho lowered his gaze with an embarrassed expression.

“Confucius Zhuge faced that terrifying tiger for our sake. Because of that, we were able to safely retreat the young warriors. We mustn’t be swayed by greed and fail to judge what’s more important.”

“I apologize. My thinking was short-sighted.”

Watching Bang Yeoncho immediately apologize, Jeong Haeryong sighed and dispelled the coldness.

How could he blame him?

Anyone else might have said the same thing.

Especially Beast Palace warriors had exceptional greed for spirit-level beasts.

Because that directly translated to power.

“I’ll consider your words as coming from loyalty to the palace.”

“…Yes.”

Bang Yeoncho’s face flushed slightly, unable to even lift his head in shame.

“But it’s troubling. As you said, we can’t just sit idle. If something happens to Confucius Zhuge, who brought back the smile to the Young Lady’s face… How could I bear all that guilt?”

He could only sigh repeatedly.

Such was his position.

Though it was clear he should protect the honored guest Zhuge Munhyeon, he was an elder of Beast Palace.

Should righteousness come first?

Or should he prioritize the palace’s interests?

It wasn’t an easy decision to make.

Moreover, if they moved now, a fight with Monstrous Poison Gate, which had already begun deploying their main forces to Aenoe Mountain, would be inevitable.

Even if they claimed their intention was to give up the spirit beast and rescue Zhuge Munhyeon, persuasion would be difficult.

Right now, any action would inevitably be suspected as coveting the spirit beast.

Rashly deploying warriors could even trigger a war.

“Damn, I should seek an answer from the Palace Lord…”

Caught in this delicate problem where he couldn’t make decisions beyond his authority, Jeong Haeryong’s face grew increasingly stern.

“By the way, how is Mujin Dojang’s condition?”

“We’re treating him for now, but not only are his external injuries severe, his internal injuries are serious too…”

“Hmm…”

“From what I hear, some energy he carries within his body keeps having episodes, making treatment slow.”

“Sigh, I should check on that situation first.”

* * *

“Hold him down quickly! The flow is unstable! We need to suppress it.”

“Yes!”

At Chiljangjja’s shout, five strong men grabbed and pressed down Mujin’s limbs.

“Grraaahhh!”

Even so, controlling his convulsive thrashing wasn’t easy.

Blood seeped through the bandages that had barely been applied for hemostasis.

The sutured wounds had torn open again.

“Damn it…”

They needed to stop the bleeding urgently, but the physician was helpless while the patient writhed about.

First, they had to control his rampaging energy.

“Dan Sojo!”

“Yes?”

“Quickly! Where should we press?”

“That, that is…”

At Chiljangjja’s urgent expression, Dan Yeonhwa couldn’t hide her confusion.

She had learned the Sealing Heart Method and Blockage Formation from Zhuge Munhyeon.

And she had also learned which acupoints to reinforce with the Lesser Heaven Star Heart Method to prevent spirit energy from running wild.

But he had never actually put it to use.

He was just dazed and confused, floundering about.

“Dan Sojo!”

“…?”

“If we leave things like this, Mujin Dojang will die. Do you truly intend to let him go without any effort? Will you abandon the trust that Confucius Zhuge placed in you when he entrusted him to your care?”

At Chiljangjja’s desperate cry, struggling even to control the demonic nature settled within Mujin’s body, Dan Yeonhwa grimaced.

“Dan Sojo, steel your heart. If we don’t do something, Mujin Dojang will….”

Blood light began to swirl in Mujin’s unfocused, wide-open eyes.

The power of the fourth seal, which he had not yet learned to control, was running wild and gradually consuming him.

If they didn’t hurry to stop it, forget treatment—he would become a demon and go on a rampage.

“Dan Sojo!”

At the voice calling again, Dan Yeonhwa gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.

She had to do it.

Though she had never performed it before, there was no time to practice now.

The Heart Sealing Technique.

The first acupoint was….

“The Jungwan acupoint (Middle Epigastrium: solar plexus).”

“Jungwan?”

“Yes, press that point to block the surging power first. You must not completely seal it. Leave three parts open for circulation.”

“Understood.”

There was no time to hesitate.

As soon as Dan Yeonhwa spoke, Chiljangjja’s hand pressed down on the Jungwan acupoint of the writhing Mujin.

“Keoeoook!”

Mujin’s struggles subsided somewhat as he opened his mouth wide and let out a groan.

It had been effective.

“Next is Geogwol, then Danjoong. Allow only two parts and one part of power to flow through each respectively.”

She spoke, and Chiljangjja’s hands moved busily.

The Heart Sealing Technique was a method of controlling the acupoints that vertically penetrated a person’s body from the dantian to Cheondol.

Dantian, Gihae, Jungwan, Geogwol, Danjoong, Cheondol.

All of these were death acupoints that could cost one’s life if carelessly touched.

The Heart Sealing Technique was a method of pressing down on those pathways and redirecting the trapped power to nearby acupoints for sealing.

Cold sweat flowed.

Both Chiljangjja, who was pouring out all his immortal energy to control the demonic energy, and Dan Yeonhwa, who was struggling to accurately identify acupoints from memory.

Through their efforts, Mujin gradually stabilized.

The eye light that had flashed blood-red gradually faded and became dim.

When he had stabilized enough that they no longer needed to hold down his limbs, Chiljangjja, finally able to remove his hands, spoke to the physician.

“Please stop the bleeding. He’s already lost a lot of blood.”

“Yes.”

The physician’s urgent hands followed.

He cut bandages, re-sutured the torn chest wound, then sprinkled hemostatic powder and wound medicine. Then he wrapped bandages again to prevent the wound from reopening.

“Haah….”

Dan Yeonhwa collapsed as if drained of energy.

It was natural, having poured out excessive mental strength.

“You worked hard. You did well.”

“…What did I do? I can only apologize for hesitating. Chiljangjja suffered because of me.”

“No. Anyone would hesitate before something they’ve never done… Without Dan Sojo, it would have been impossible. Munhyeon probably sent us down because he trusted Dan Sojo.”

As Chiljangjja, who had also collapsed, praised her while drenched in sweat, Dan Yeonhwa blushed.

Though he praised her, it was ultimately thanks to Chiljangjja.

Without him, she would have only hesitated throughout, and Mujin’s life or death would have been uncertain.

“Rest a bit.”

“No. I must keep watch. Mujin Dojang might suddenly have another episode.”

“Hehe. My thinking was short-sighted. Come to think of it, I should also hurry to circulate my qi. I’ve drawn it down to the bottom….”

“Do you need any assistance?”

“I won’t refuse. If you have any elixir pills or items that can restore internal energy, I’d be grateful.”

“You’ve learned immortal energy—will that be alright?”

“It doesn’t matter. I just need to take only the pure essence. I won’t be able to get as much as I want, but it’s better than nothing.”

At his words, Dan Yeonhwa had her subordinate martial artists bring elixir pills from Beast Palace.

Though they weren’t spiritual pill grade items, they would be quite helpful for recovering internal energy.

When Chiljangjja began his qi circulation in one corner of the room, Third Elder Jeong Haeryong came to visit.

“Young Lady, what happened?”

Seeing her collapsed and drenched in sweat was cause for concern.

“It was a critical situation, but we barely resolved it.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“More importantly, how is the situation developing? We should quickly send a search party to help Confucius Zhuge, shouldn’t we?”

“That, that is….”

“What’s wrong?”

At Dan Yeonhwa’s words, Jeong Haeryong’s face darkened.

It was something he had been pondering all the way here.

But as if sensing Jeong Haeryong’s feelings, Dan Yeonhwa spoke with a stern expression.

“I understand. What your position must be like.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

“That’s why I’m asking—I have a favor to request of you, Young Lady.”

“A favor?”

“Yes.”

“What kind…?”

“Would you lend me some guards?”

“Pardon?”

“No matter how I think about it, that’s the only way. Right now, I can’t mobilize others.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Monstrous Poison Gate has begun moving, coveting the spiritual creature. The Dark Heaven Unit has already been deployed, and the Poison Blood Squad seems ready to move as well.”

“What? Then their main forces are….”

“We might clash with them, so we must avoid reckless searching. However, we can’t turn our backs on Confucius Zhuge either.”

“Elder, please explain in detail. What exactly are you trying to do?”

“If you lend me guards, I’ll try moving secretly.”

“You’ll go personally, Elder?”

“What choice do I have? I can’t just abandon the person who healed Miss.”

“Elder….”

“Don’t worry. I’ll move while avoiding danger as much as possible.”

“….”

“Actually, this works out well. Monstrous Poison Gate won’t pay attention to small groups moving. For them, capturing the spiritual creature is the most important thing right now, so they’ll want to avoid all-out war with Beast Palace. While they focus on the spiritual creature, I’ll search for Confucius Zhuge.”

That was his conclusion.

A way to secure Zhuge Munhyeon’s safety while minimizing friction with Monstrous Poison Gate.

Dan Yeonhwa couldn’t continue speaking for a long time.

Though she was the one who owed Zhuge Munhyeon a debt, she felt regretful that she lacked the power to step forward.

“Young Lady, don’t make that expression. Right now, you must stay by Mujin Dojang’s side. Confucius Zhuge entrusted him to you because he trusted you. Saving him is how you repay the debt.”

Toward him speaking with a gentle smile, Dan Yeonhwa answered with a stern face.

“I’ll ask this of you. That’s all I can say, Uncle.”

“Hehehe.”

It was an affectionate form of address she hadn’t used in official settings.

To her, the elders of Beast Palace were like grandfathers, and all the senior members were no different from her father’s sworn brothers.

She could only hope they would all be safe.

Both Zhuge Munhyeon and Jeong Haeryong.

Also, on that day, Dan Yeonhwa resolved that she must become stronger.

Because becoming stronger meant having the power to protect those by her side.

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