Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 744
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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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Chapter 744
In that instant, the demonic cultivators began speaking one after another.
“S-Soegooju! I can hear it too! A voice saying it will kill me, curse me…”
“Soegooju. Something is wrong. A familiar voice is begging me to save them…… I’m coming soon!”
At that moment, Yeo Ha-ryun shouted.
“It’s soul-seizing sorcery! Everyone, raise your inner energy!”
Following the Soegooju’s command, everyone began to bolster their inner energy.
However, it was only temporary.
“No! No, no, no, no! Mireuk…… Mireuk, I beseech you!”
With tears of blood streaming from both eyes, one demonic cultivator’s muscles swelled as his clothes tore with a ripping sound.
“His demonic energy ran wild?”
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee spoke calmly.
“No. He caused it to run wild himself. This is burning his own inner energy to fight within tremendous terror.”
“Grrrraaahhh!”
As he wildly swung his blade in all directions, the other demonic cultivators began suffering severe injuries.
Jin Cheon-hee and Yeo Ha-ryun moved immediately.
Yeo Ha-ryun unfurled the Cheonma Gunnim Seal.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
The moment the air became a pressure like a thousand pounds crashing down, a flick of the finger technique shot through that pressure and struck the blood vessel.
Splurt!
But after that, all the others began screaming and tried to send their demonic energy into runaway!
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“Knock out everyone who’s been bewitched!”
At those words, Yeo Ha-ryun did not hesitate.
The Cheonma Gunnim Seal spread across all directions.
Darkness swelled, devouring space itself—a sensation as if a human had fallen into the deep sea with not a single point of light, and within that terror, the Cheonma Gunnim Seal descended.
Boom, boom, boom!
Through that oppression, Jin Cheon-hee’s flick of the finger technique passed like a meteor.
One person, then another.
Killing a person is easy.
But saving them was a hundred times more difficult.
They had to knock everyone unconscious before the demonic energy ran wild.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s Cheonma Gunnim Seal held firm, while Jin Cheon-hee split time again and again with the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong.
Strangely, the flick of the finger technique bounced off the wall like a ricochet and struck the blood vessel with perfect accuracy.
A meticulously calculated trajectory.
Ilkana was astonished.
There were many masters of the flick of the finger technique in the Demonic Sect.
However, in this cramped space, to precisely predict the opponent’s next move and strike the blood vessel through ricochets—such a person was extremely rare even in the Demonic Sect.
Especially, could there be someone capable of this in such a chaotic melee?
‘What’s more terrifying is that Ilgwang didn’t spend his entire life perfecting the flick of the finger technique. He merely learned it as a derivative martial art.’
I divided my thoughts using the Dual Thought Technique.
Two Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong calculations computed and fragmented time. Then I crafted bullets to strike the blood meridians using the Five Elements Divine Art.
And so, the final one.
Bang!
After confirming the last demonic cultivator lost consciousness, I quickly moved forward, pressed my fingers to his neck, and checked his pulse.
“Phew, he hasn’t fallen into demonic possession yet.”
I had rendered everyone afflicted by the soul-stealing technique unconscious.
In the end, those remaining were Hwang-gu, Noeji, Ilkana, Yeo Ha-ryun, and finally myself.
Yeo Ha-ryun asked in disbelief.
“What on earth is this…?”
“It’s a formation technique. Or perhaps a barrier.”
“Is it the kind that interferes with the mind? Why doesn’t it work on us?”
“Perhaps it’s the amount of inner energy, mental fortitude, or the level of martial mastery? It seems like the kind that doesn’t work on animals from the start.”
Suddenly, a nightmare from the North Sea Ice Palace surfaced in my mind.
“That wall emitting light earlier must have had some effect.”
“That would make sense.”
Ilkana scratched the back of her head.
“Elder Brother, this is problematic. It seems we should retreat and bring more personnel.”
“Are there more people?”
“The headquarters wouldn’t have sent fewer than twenty. There are at least two hundred or more brothers waiting. All of them are masters at the peak level or above.”
‘Does the Demonic Sect harvest peak masters from fields? What is this….’
I expressed this complex and astonishing feeling in two words.
“Wow.”
Then I added one more thing.
“With that many, you could even handle a major sect with a surprise attack, right? And with Ha-ryun here too.”
That’s when Yeo Ha-ryun spoke up.
“There’s no need. The three of us—me, my brother, and you—will go.”
Ilkana asked in disbelief.
“What about the subordinates?”
“My brother’s dog can be left at the stone chamber entrance. That’s the safest place.”
Woof!?
Hwang-gu suddenly protested, as if asking why he was being ordered around.
Yeo Ha-ryun continued.
“What guarantee is there that we won’t fall victim to the same formation technique again? Here, they’d only be a burden. My brother would think the same way, wouldn’t he?”
“….”
I rested my chin on my hand, lost in thought, then spoke.
“That would be better. Adding more people here would only increase unnecessary casualties.”
I gently stroked Hwang-gu’s neck.
“Hwang-gu, I’m counting on you. You’re okay with this, right?”
Whimper.
Hwang-gu clearly didn’t want to be separated from his master. I recited an incantation toward him.
“Braised lamb ribs.”
Woof?!
“Sweet potato jerky.”
Arf?!
“A walk to the horizon. I’ll keep running until you tell me to stop. I’ll even ride on your back.”
Pant pant pant pant pant!
Thank goodness Hwang-gu is a dog.
If he were human, he wouldn’t have settled for just braised ribs, sweet potato, and a walk.
I had Hwang-gu carry a demonic cultivator on his back, while the rest gathered clothes and fashioned them into something like a sled to drag along.
“Noeji. Help out too.”
Chirp?
Noeji also needed magical incentives. I took a deep breath and spoke.
“Soft-boiled egg stew.”
Chirp-
That won’t do, apparently. He must have learned from watching Hwang-gu.
“Chicken stew!”
Chirp!
He wavered a bit. But he didn’t jump at it like Hwang-gu did.
Yeo Ha-ryun, who had been sitting quietly, pulled out a blue jade from his sleeve.
“Take this and do it.”
Chirp chirp!
“Our Noeji wouldn’t fall for mere jewelry.”
Whoosh!
Noeji quickly snatched the jewel, worried Yeo Ha-ryun might change his mind, and tucked it somewhere between his feathers.
I muttered in disbelief.
“You like shiny things?”
This is exactly like a real crow.
Noeji’s body swelled up with a creaking sound.
Grown massive like an ostrich, Noeji carried the demonic cultivators on his back—not flying, but walking.
Walking quite well, actually.
Thump thump.
With all the demonic cultivators loaded up, the Hwang-gu caravan and the Noeji caravan set off.
Seeing me standing there dumbfounded, Yeo Ha-ryun spoke.
“I wish Heukmyo could do something like that.”
Heukmyo, understanding those words, hissed.
Hissssss!
Then she bit Yeo Ha-ryun’s finger hard. However, not a drop of blood came from the finger that had reached the realm of Sword-Proof Body.
“Hmm, weak. Is it because she’s small? If I feed her three meals a day like I do my brother, will she grow?”
“…Hey, you demon. Small is cute. Don’t raise her. Why would you raise her like that?”
Mew—
Heukmyo quickly rubbed her head against Jin Cheon-hee’s body.
“You’re quite popular with the spiritual creatures, Elder Brother.”
Jin Cheon-hee sighed.
‘Does he really not understand this cuteness? Ha-ryun, I mean.’
Jin Cheon-hee handed Heukmyo the jerky he had made from Hwang-gu’s meat.
Woof! Munch munch munch.
Heukmyo savored the jerky as if it were the finest delicacy in the world.
It wasn’t an exaggeration. When making the jerky, I always used the Five Elements Divine Art to infuse it with inner energy.
And just before feeding it, I would quickly use the Fire Generation technique to sear the surface until it was golden brown.
She loved it even more that way.
Watching Heukmyo devour the jerky as if someone might steal it, Ilkana thought to herself.
‘It’s over. She’s now tasted it twice.’
That flavor was something only Ilgwang could recreate.
A culinary genius obsessed with cooking had made it just for the children to eat.
Having tasted it once was one thing, but now that she’d experienced it twice, withdrawal symptoms would surely follow.
As proof, Heukmyo licked Jin Cheon-hee’s fingers while begging for more jerky.
“Alright, alright. I’ll give you one more.”
To be loved by spiritual creatures, one must cook well.
In a way, it’s exactly like raising children.
* * *
The three of them ventured deeper inside.
With only three of them, they didn’t need to worry about the group behind and simply rushed past using light steps.
Upon entering, Ilkana suddenly stopped.
The tendons on the back of her hand trembled violently.
“Elder Brother, I’m beginning to hear it too. The deeper we go, the louder this voice becomes.”
“What is it saying?”
Yeo Ha-ryun asked. Ilkana gripped her trembling right hand tightly with her left.
Her nails dug into her flesh, drawing blood.
“It’s imitating Mother’s voice, commanding us to kill you both and welcome Mireuk.”
As expected.
The demonic cultivators from before had also suddenly begun praising Mireuk—it appeared to be a form of brainwashing.
“Soul-seizing sorcery, then. Can you endure it?”
“Ugh.”
“Try to hold on.”
At Yeo Ha-ryun’s command, Ilkana clenched her teeth and began to resist through sheer willpower.
At that moment, Jin Cheon-hee also heard a voice.
—Uncle, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts…. Please save me. Save me, uncle.
The girl whose human sacrifice I had once prevented was crying out in pain.
The formation moved, seizing that very moment when the human heart wavered.
I realized that the surrounding landscape had transformed in an instant.
‘Is this similar to the North Sea Ice Palace’s formation technique?’
However, I quickly changed my thoughts.
Back then, even my memories had been obscured as if covered over, hadn’t they?
The current me had not lost myself.
Back then, I had been forced to experience the wounds of my childhood. Watching those painful memories, I lost myself and fell into a state of self-forgetfulness. But now was the present.
Now was the present.
My adult body remained unchanged—only the scenery had shifted.
What appeared before my eyes was an emaciated child. With only the organs protruding grotesquely, the child was starving terribly.
The child was dying of hunger with nothing to eat. There appeared to be illness as well.
I could see the wounds on the child’s toes festering.
-You’re saying you’ll give me food if I take this useless wretch?
-That’s correct.
I couldn’t see the face of the person responding at all.
For some reason, I felt this person was neither a monk nor a shaman.
That was the feeling I had.
-Very well. Take the child.
The father lifted the skeletal child and sold him to the figure outside the door.
-Father. Don’t abandon me. Father. It hurts.
The child was too weak to even cry out loudly.
One needed strength for that as well.
In that bleak future, the child only became more bleak. And somewhere, the child was used as a sacrifice for human offering.
The child burned. People bowed before the flames.
-I will sell myself. Please give me food.
The father stepped forward. He resolved to sacrifice himself for his wife and child.
Both wife and child wept bitterly, but no tears fell. Even tears required strength to shed.
Behind the dry sobs, the father turned to ash.
-If I sell myself, will you truly heal my parents?
-Give food to my sister. I don’t care what happens to me.
-I will sell my brother. If only I can live!
Humans sold themselves and sold others.
Those who held others dear sold themselves, while those who held themselves dear sold others.
This was the hell of the human world—a savagery visible only when humans abandoned their humanity.
-Save me. It hurts. Get me out of here. Ah. If Mireuk would come. If the Blessed One would arrive. We would be saved. Come quickly. Mireuk. Free us from this suffering.
-Ah. Blessed Mireuk.
-Come and smile upon us.
I understood.
‘Ah, this was not a mere illusion. And it was not simply a soul-capturing technique either.’
Because various things were mixed together, it was difficult to distinguish by merely observing the outward symptoms.
However, its essence was far greater than any demonic sorcery.
The voices of vengeful spirits bound to this underground city.
The memories they experienced before their deaths.
Those memories were being forcibly injected into people in the form of a curse.
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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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