Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 302

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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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Chapter 302

A feast of swords.

Within Ok Hwan’s sword strikes that were swung, plum blossoms bloomed and withered, Zhuge Munhyeon sought enlightenment, and Jin Yalim protected.

But they were not the only ones in that dark space.

“Huh!”

At the tip of a giant tree far away from Cheongga Plain.

Though the end of a small branch swaying in the wind seemed precarious, Sword Ancestor stood with his hands behind his back, unable to contain his bewilderment as he watched the three of them.

To be precise, he was watching Zhuge Munhyeon.

Ok Hwan’s Plum Blossom Sword?

He wasn’t curious about it at all.

For someone who had already reached the realm of immortality through the sword, whether plum blossoms or chrysanthemums were drawn was nothing surprising.

But seeing what Zhuge Munhyeon was doing, he couldn’t hide his admiration.

His breathing technique as he sat in meditation.

It was Embryonic Breathing.

“Who taught that to someone who hasn’t even joined Seonmun yet?”

It was a breathing technique that only those who belonged could learn.

Gwi, Yo, and spirits gather spirit energy by breathing in their own way.

There’s no need for anyone to teach them.

Most are born with it.

But those who seek to understand immortality through acquired means must learn Embryonic Breathing.

Only then can they handle spirit energy.

And accumulate it as well.

“Moreover, revealing spiritual power without even setting up a barrier? What a recklessly taught fellow.”

He thought whoever taught him Embryonic Breathing was truly irresponsible.

What if beasts driven by greed came running after revealing spirit energy like that?

His frowning was brief.

“Ha, Half-Immortal level spirit energy?”

The moment Zhuge Munhyeon began earnestly breathing through Embryonic Breathing and operating spirit energy, Sword Ancestor couldn’t help but gasp.

It wasn’t just Half-Immortal level, but a level that surpassed energy accumulation and approached the decisive stage.

Even in Taeudon, the Seonmun that Sword Ancestor belonged to, those with that level of spirit energy could be counted on one hand.

But how did someone who hadn’t yet escaped the boundaries of humanity gather such spirit energy?

Someone who hadn’t even properly built the basics.

“What exactly is this fellow doing?”

Seeing that his origin was the Zhuge Family, he shouldn’t have cultivated the immortal path or the Buddhist path.

Meanwhile, what was that soul strangely mixed within his body?

Unlike spirits, it didn’t seem like he had stolen someone else’s.

“What a curious fellow indeed. Truly curious… Whoa!”

Sword Ancestor, who had been tilting his head, momentarily lost his footing and nearly fell from the tree.

He barely avoided falling by grabbing a branch.

It was such a shock that he momentarily forgot even how to float in the air.

“What is that fellow trying to do now?”

Just moments ago, he had been operating spirit energy through Embryonic Breathing.

But now it was internal energy.

However, it wasn’t the flow he had seen before.

He was operating internal energy in the same way as Jin Yalim, the one protecting him.

“Breaking down… the boundary?”

His heart nearly jumped out of his gaping mouth.

He was forcibly breaking down and mixing the carefully separated boundary between spirit energy and internal energy.

Why on earth would he do such a thing…

Internal energy learned by humans and spirit energy of the immortal path had distinctly different handling methods and could never be mixed.

One should choose one side and abandon what wasn’t chosen.

But this fellow was now trying to combine them into one.

It was an extremely unstable state.

If you carelessly try to mix things that don’t mix like water and oil, collisions occur and explosions happen.

The person involved either dies or becomes a cripple.

Sword Ancestor couldn’t help but grimace.

That’s not something that mixes just because you try to mix it.

“Should I stop him? Or should I just watch?”

He could only waver.

There was no need to interfere with someone who was going to destroy himself… but for some reason, he didn’t want to leave him alone.

He should intervene…

“Huh?”

Suddenly his mind went blank.

Hundreds of years since becoming a Half-Immortal.

Even when blocked by walls of enlightenment, even when realizing new sword techniques, he hadn’t been this surprised.

Surprised?

No, he felt like he had become stupid for a moment.

Mixing?

The two flows were trying to flow in harmony, even if weakly?

Sword Ancestor gaped with a dumbfounded expression.

It was a miracle.

What everyone said was impossible was unfolding before his eyes.

Though it was only partial, not complete…

“Does this mean I have no choice but to meet him directly?”

Now that surprise had repeated several times, Sword Ancestor’s curiosity about Zhuge Munhyeon had grown extremely.

No, it should be called anticipation.

Perhaps through meeting him, he might reach a new realm.

* * *

How much time had passed?

Far in the distance, dawn broke and darkness receded, revealing the world even if dimly.

Flash!

The moment Zhuge Munhyeon’s closed eyes opened, the clear light that poured out seemed to brightly illuminate the entire Cheongga Plain area for an instant.

Though it was brief, Ok Hwan, who was at Cheongga Plain, couldn’t have missed it.

The sword stopped, and the plum blossoms disappeared.

Ok Hwan realized that someone was watching his training.

It was natural that displeasure appeared on his face.

Watching training without permission.

But Zhuge… Munhyeon?

Why was he here?

Though questions arose, Ok Hwan didn’t immediately confront or approach him.

He was sitting in meditation.

Meanwhile, the divine light from earlier… he had certainly realized something.

Ok Hwan, thinking he would need time to organize his thoughts, waited until he showed change.

And shortly after.

“Ugh! Urgh!”

Zhuge Munhyeon suddenly clutched his chest and began vomiting blood.

“Y-Young Master Zhuge!”

Jin Yalim, who had been standing guard, was startled and supported him, and Ok Hwan finally approached and asked.

“What happened?”

“Well… I came out for a walk and discovered the Sect Leader training, and I stared as if entranced… At first I was going to just pass by so as not to disturb your training, but suddenly I sat in meditation… I absolutely didn’t intend to watch on purpose.”

Whether he was flustered, Jin Yalim rambled on with words he couldn’t even finish properly.

But this was already what he had expected.

“Hmm, wait for now.”

“….”

Ok Hwan, who had cut off his words, first examined Zhuge Munhyeon’s condition in detail.

What he had seen, what he had realized.

Such things were matters to be addressed later.

The blood was dark red.

Sometimes one might cough up blood during the process of enlightenment, but it doesn’t always lead to good results.

It could be an internal injury.

If not properly controlled in time, it could lead to qi deviation in the worst case, so he had to hurry to stabilize his internal energy.

But Ok Hwan, who had grasped his pulse point, couldn’t help but be bewildered.

“Wh-what is this?”

Typically, heart methods, whether forward or reverse, regardless of orthodox or unorthodox paths, usually have similar basic operations.

Since he was a descendant of the Zhuge Family, he naturally thought he could understand the flow and stabilize his internal energy…

But what on earth was this?

He had never even heard of such a flow, let alone seen it.

And yet such pure energy…

“Sect Leader, I’m fine now.”

“Hmm.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“Ah, well…”

Though Zhuge Munhyeon expressed his gratitude, Ok Hwan, who hadn’t really done much, could only make an awkward expression.

He really hadn’t done anything.

He had grasped the pulse point, but was pushed back by a strange repulsive force.

“I apologize. I observed your cultivation without permission.”

“Not at all. You saw it while passing by, so it can’t be called intentional, and enlightenment is granted to the practitioner. It can’t be seen as your fault.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Sit down for now.”

“Yes.”

There was nothing that could be called a chair.

It was bare ground.

But no one cared about dirtying their clothes.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I achieved great progress.”

“Hmm… may I ask what you saw?”

“I don’t know how to explain it. The concerns I had were somewhat different from others.”

“Different? Are you perhaps referring to the strange heart method you learned?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Ok Hwan was curious about what it was, but didn’t pry further.

It was consideration.

There had definitely been achievement.

The unification of internal energy and spiritual energy.

Though he couldn’t say he had accomplished it, he had seen the possibility.

They had mixed slightly, after all.

Zhuge Munhyeon, who had been looking at Ok Hwan, wanted to respond to his consideration.

Without him, he wouldn’t have gained this.

“When seeing something and gaining enlightenment, each person feels different things, but I saw plum blossoms blooming and falling from the Sect Leader’s sword.”

“Plum blossoms?”

“Yes.”

“Hahaha, excellent! Excellent. And what a connection this is.”

Ok Hwan burst into hearty laughter.

There were no plum blossoms to begin with.

There was only the sword path, so it depended on the heart of the one who saw the sword.

“There was a deep fragrance.”

“Fragrance?”

“Yes. It probably originated from the Purple Mist.”

“No, how do you know that?”

Ok Hwan’s eyes widened in shock at Zhuge Munhyeon’s words.

The Purple Mist Divine Art.

Along with the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, it was the martial art that had represented Huashan.

But it was not transmitted to outsiders.

Even within Huashan, only the chosen ones learned the Purple Mist Divine Art.

And even among them, only those with the right connection gained true enlightenment.

Only when that level deepened would it finally carry fragrance.

But more than knowing about the Purple Mist, what was more surprising was that he had noticed the unique feeling that the Purple Mist possessed.

To sense the hidden fragrance of the Purple Mist, one had to be at a similar level to himself or surpass it…

‘Could it be that he has already surpassed me?’

Ok Hwan had no choice but to look at Zhuge Munhyeon anew.

When he first heard the rumors, and when he heard the story from Hyeonmuk, he thought there might be some exaggeration.

“Plum blossoms, and fragrance… You truly are an amazing person.”

“You flatter me.”

“Well, if you saw it, you must have realized something accordingly. What did you realize?”

Ok Hwan’s face seemed to show a hint of urgency.

It was greed.

It was yearning.

Though enlightenment was different for each person, he thought that perhaps what he felt might become a clue to reaching the next stage.

To him now, Zhuge Munhyeon was not a young junior, but a fellow traveler walking the same path.

Zhuge Munhyeon, wearing a smile, responded to him.

How could he keep it to himself alone?

The enlightenment had originated from him in the first place.

Moreover, even if he conveyed it, whether one realized it or not depended entirely on him.

“Circulation.”

“Circulation?”

“Being born, growing, dying… and being born again. Something like that.”

“What does that mean…?”

“It means the end is not predetermined.”

“…!”

“In the end… boundless, or infinite. What blooms doesn’t disappear, but temporarily fades and blooms again. Just like the plum blossoms the Sect Leader drew.”

This was possible because he had already seen many things.

The Demonic Path, the Nine Sects, the Unorthodox Faction.

Regardless of distinctions and schools, his desire to learn everything in his previous life had accumulated and accumulated, now blooming in a new way.

Of course, he couldn’t express all the principles he had realized in words.

The mixing in the process of circulation, and the fusion of different things.

“Boundless, infinite… the death of what bloomed is not eternal but preparation for a new beginning… Ah!”

Ok Hwan let out an exclamation.

As if savoring a moment he had waited for his entire life.

Perhaps he too was experiencing the process of sudden enlightenment and sudden cultivation, realizing in an instant.

Like the times he had worked his entire life for that one thing finally blooming, like a flower blooming.

“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

“We each gain something different.”

“Heh heh, Amitabha. You speak truly. Yet even so, you have resolved my long-standing spiritual question.”

“I hope you achieve great enlightenment.”

It was a wish.

After all, nothing had changed through immediate realization.

However, a direction had been established.

And he would strive again to reach the end of that direction.

The two looked at each other with gentle eyes.

Jin Yalim, who had been watching them from the side, could only make a dumbfounded expression.

‘Both of them… are talking nonsense.’

If you’ve gained enlightenment, at least give a detailed explanation so others can understand.

Blooming and withering?

What about circulation?

Damn it, I don’t understand why someone who isn’t even a Taoist is having a Seonmun dialogue with a Taoist.

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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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