Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 95

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

Episode 95
“Is this really what a Spiritual Pill should be?”
Sin Ui watched Jeok Geom and Seol Ran performing Energy Circulation Meditation, bewilderment settling over him.
“There’s certainly Demonic Energy present, but the amount of Spiritual Energy they’ve absorbed seems far greater than that…….”
He shook his head slowly.
Poison was something harmful to the body.
That was a self-evident truth.
Occasionally, sects like the Five Poisons Gate in Sichuan or elsewhere would treat poison as a Spiritual Pill, focusing primarily on Poison Techniques, but such cases were exceedingly rare.
Yet here was a Spiritual Pill that contained poison.
It defied everything he thought he knew.
“Hah. Is this a dream or waking life?”
The evidence lay right before his eyes.
Though he served as the master of the Cheonjung-ui Gate and had not pursued Martial Arts to any great depth, he had cultivated enough fundamental cultivation to maintain his health.
Yet even he could sense it.
The energy radiating from Jeok Geom and Seol Ran clearly came from a Spiritual Pill.
‘I wonder how it was made.’
Once he acknowledged it, curiosity bloomed.
Just then, the two of them stirred from their meditation, rising unsteadily.
Despite their weary faces, they moved with surprising swiftness, kindling a fire and setting a cauldron above it.
Cheon Hui then added medicinal herbs.
Sin Ui recognized some of them.
Beginning with Nine-Leaf Grass used in wound medicine, followed by Water Bell Flower for internal injuries and several other herbs.
And finally came a yellow flower, at which Sin Ui’s brow furrowed sharply.
‘They’re mixing all of that together?’
The source of the Demonic Energy sensed in the Pill was usually not an ordinary poisonous herb, but Sanbishang.
‘Such a virulent poison herb……. No, wait. I don’t know yet.’
Sin Ui watched Cheon Hui’s movements with rapt attention.
Sanbishang among the medicinal herbs.
It simply did not belong.
Then.
“What is that……?”
Cheon Hui began adding multiple other poisonous herbs in bulk.
Seeing what appeared to be the creation of a poison elixir, Sin Ui watched with confusion, then—
‘If they drink that, they’ll drop dead the moment it reaches their stomach……!’
Suddenly Sin Ui’s eyes widened.
All at once, a brilliant idea struck him like lightning.
“Poison-Counters-Poison…….”
He swallowed his shock.
The method of treating the poisoned with poison was indeed recorded in the texts of Cheonjung-ui Gate.
But it was a technique employed only in the most dire circumstances.
“They’re mad.”
It was remarkably audacious.
One wrong step and they could fall into poisoning and lose their lives.
“Nothing short of madness could lead anyone to conceive of making a Spiritual Pill through such a method.”
Watching Cheon Hui stake his life on a mere Spiritual Pill, Sin Ui clicked his tongue.
But did he know the truth?
What Cheon Hui had seen was not merely a method using poison, but a Spiritual Pill Manufacturing Method written in Demonic Energy far more potent and vicious than poison itself.
“One mistake and they’re dead.”
Now knowing the method, Sin Ui stroked his beard.
“First the medicinal herbs, then the poisonous herbs, then the Sanbishang…….”
As Sin Ui continued reciting the herbs and poisons Cheon Hui had added, he felt a pang of dissatisfaction.
‘The proportions are slightly off. If we’re using Poison-Counters-Poison, adding more poisonous herbs altogether would be better.’
His lips itched to speak.
‘We need more of those poisonous herbs instead!’
Watching Cheon Hui continue adding herbs, Sin Ui could finally hold back no longer and cried out.
“Add more poisonous herbs there!”
“Yes?”
Cheon Hui looked at Sin Ui, who had suddenly begun offering unsolicited advice.
“The extreme toxicity of Sanbishang can only be neutralized by combining all the remaining poisonous herbs. That quantity is nowhere near sufficient!”
“Is that so? Well then, if that’s the case.”
After the explanation that followed, Cheon Hui nodded in understanding and tossed in the remaining poisonous herbs without reservation.
As the liquid began to boil vigorously and the toxic plants dissolved into it, a reek so foul it was almost visible erupted from the cauldron.
“Ack, cough.”
“Ugh.”
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran stumbled backward in horror, but Sin Ui stepped closer instead.
“Do you have Dragon Shell and Iron Shell Stone?”
“We don’t.”
“Tch.”
Sin Ui’s eyes narrowed as he clicked his tongue.
“It would be better if we had them. Dragon Shell replenishes yin energy, and Iron Shell Stone amplifies the power of spiritual pills exponentially.”
“I’ll try to source them later.”
At the very moment Cheon Hui nodded in agreement—
“Yes. Those two are absolutely essential when making a Great Return Pill as well.”
“Really? A Great Return Pill too… wait?”
You know how to make a Great Return Pill?
For the first time, Cheon Hui felt a flicker of genuine surprise.
The Great Return Pill of Shaolin Temple was a legendary spiritual medicine—its formula was lost to time.
Yet here Sin Ui was, casually revealing the very ingredients that went into it.
“You know how to make a Great Return Pill?”
“The person who helped me understand the Great Return Pill is an elder of my sect.”
“So how is it made?”
“Do you wish to know? I could tell you, but this is a secret technique of my sect…”
Noticing Cheon Hui’s interest, Sin Ui glanced sideways, as if to say, ‘Do you want to know?’
Cheon Hui simply turned his head away with indifference.
“Never mind then. Even if I learned it, I couldn’t make one right now anyway.”
“Ah, I’ll tell you.”
Seeing Cheon Hui dismiss the matter so easily, Sin Ui spoke up in alarm.
“A Great Return Pill is made by boiling Gongqing Stone Oil, then simmering a Thousand-Year Fire Carp and a Thousand-Year Snow Carp in it until they’re completely dissolved. You then sprinkle Dragon Shell and Azure Gold Stone over the mixture, coat it with oil, and steep it for a very long time.”
Interesting—it was remarkably similar to how a Demonic Fire Seven Radiance Pill was made.
The most crucial element remained the foundation, after all.
Throwing in all the precious materials and investing immense time and effort.
Simple, but far more effective than any shortcut.
“And as for the other pills…”
As they continued talking, time passed, and eventually Seol Ran spoke up.
“Master, it’s ready.”
“Is it?”
Cheon Hui moved immediately and skillfully pressed his hand into the cauldron, compressing the mixture firmly.
“Hmm. This one has a nice appearance.”
A satisfied smile crossed Cheon Hui’s lips as he regarded the compressed pill.
He split it cleanly in half with a sharp crack and tossed the pieces.
“Catch.”
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran caught them with resigned expressions.
The two halves of the spiritual pill soon made their way into Jeok Geom’s and Seol Ran’s mouths.
As they began their Energy Circulation Meditation—
“But why do you use poisonous herbs instead of spiritual creatures or spiritual plants?”
Sin Ui asked Cheon Hui.
Why poisonous herbs?
The answer was simple.
“They’re cheap.”
He would have preferred to use better materials, but sourcing enough quality ingredients to manufacture pills in large quantities in a short span was no easy task.
So by necessity, he had settled on the most efficient method available—poisonous herbs.
Since no one else wanted them except assassins or sects skilled in poison techniques, they were affordable.
‘Back in the Tianma Divine Sect, I wouldn’t have given this a second thought.’
He recalled, one by one, the materials he had used when making spiritual medicine in the sect.
The Flower Leaf Spiritual Water Grass—a spiritual herb that bloomed only once every hundred years.
The Tianma Milk Liquid, purified by Heavenly Demon Fire, and the Gongqing Stone Oil, suffused with centuries of accumulated power.
Such things had been commonplace in the Tianma Divine Sect.
To the point that Hundred-Year Polygonum, which ordinary sects treasured as a spiritual medicine, was practically treated as waste.
Cheon Hui dismissed the thought from his mind.
The past is the past. The present is the present.
The Huashan Sect couldn’t obtain it.
“And spiritual herbs are so difficult to procure that we can’t manufacture them in large quantities anyway.”
“Hmm. That’s true enough.”
Sin Ui nodded in acknowledgment.
‘This is an opportunity too.’
Jeok Geom, who had been circulating the Plum Blossom Energy Technique, felt her emotions in turmoil.
Taking spiritual medicine was agonizing.
But the results were just as certain.
‘My internal energy is already swelling to—wait!’
Suddenly Jeok Geom’s body convulsed, and at the same instant, veins bulged across her entire frame.
Her complexion turned a sickly grey.
A soundless scream tore from her throat.
The toxicity now ravaging her was entirely different from before—far more intense, so violent that even groans couldn’t escape.
I’m dying. I’m going to die!
Her skull felt as though it would split apart, and her abdomen throbbed as if something was thrashing inside her.
Then it came.
『Get a hold of yourself. How many times must I tell you?』
Cheon Hui’s Telepathic Transmission pierced through her mind.
No, no! How am I supposed to endure this agony?
She wanted to scream right then and there.
But she was in the middle of Energy Circulation Meditation, and the pain left her utterly paralyzed.
As if reading Jeok Geom’s despair, Cheon Hui sent another Telepathic Transmission.
『If you don’t absorb all the energy you’ve just taken in, the pain will continue endlessly.』
What did you just say?
The words fell on her like a thunderbolt.
Oh gods! Is my teacher trying to kill me now?
Jeok Geom clenched her teeth.
Damn it! I don’t want to die!
She forced her concentration back to the Plum Blossom Energy Technique.
But circulating her energy while her head felt ready to burst was a trial beyond measure.
That wasn’t all.
The toxic miasma kept ravaging her belly, and exhaustion crashed over her entire body in waves.
Please! Save me!
If hell existed, she thought, surely this was it—an endless torment.
Yet Jeok Geom, with her fierce will to live, gritted her teeth and endured the suffering.
Finally—finally!
The moment she had absorbed all the energy.
A burst of heat exploded within her!
Scorching warmth surged up from the depths of her belly.
The pain that had tormented her vanished as if washed away, and her body became pleasantly warm.
It was the soothing sensation of sinking into a hot spring.
‘Ah…’
Her body felt as though it were melting away.
Was this paradise itself?
As she sank deeper into that blissful haze.
A loud belch erupted from her lips.
How refreshing.
Her spirits soared.
She felt so exhilarated that it seemed she could float above the clouds and command the entire realm with a single gesture.
‘Hehehehe.’
This sudden transformation sent the liberated Jeok Geom into a daze.
‘So I really did die after all.’
Half-delirious with laughter, she slowly opened her eyes.
Fortunately, what greeted her was neither paradise nor hell, but Seol Ran.
“Teacher?”
“Student?”
The two of them called out to each other simultaneously, then burst into laughter.
“I’m alive!”
“You didn’t die!”

The two of them shot to their feet, their earlier shouts of joy giving way to sudden silence.
“What?”
“My body feels light.”
They examined themselves from different angles.
Though they moved only slightly, the change registered with unmistakable clarity.
The sharp, throbbing pain from the poison had vanished, and the exhaustion had completely lifted.
In its place surged something else entirely—vitality.
An overwhelming urge to unfurl their martial arts seized them both.
On impulse, they drew up their internal energy.
Boom!
The air ruptured outward, and the shockwave swept past Cheon Hui and Sin Ui.
“This combination is definitely the most effective,” Sin Ui remarked.
His advice had proven invaluable.
“Hmm, hmm. Our sect has many other disciplines beyond spiritual pill-making. What do you say—would you be interested in learning them properly?”
Sin Ui trailed off, his eyes narrowing.
“That shameless fellow.”
Sin Ui’s fists trembled with indignation.
And no wonder—Cheon Hui had already slipped away to Jeok Geom’s side.
“Teacher!”
Jeok Geom greeted the approaching Cheon Hui with a booming voice.
‘Ha, of course you’d come to me!’
It was as though he’d forgotten every moment of suffering from the long day in an instant.
Cheon Hui spoke to the buoyant Jeok Geom.
“Send word to the Bifeng Trading Company—just one dispatch.”
“A dispatch, sir?”
Jeok Geom scratched his head, puzzled.
“What sort of dispatch would that be?”
As if he’d been waiting for the question, Cheon Hui answered.
“Tell them to send over any remaining poisonous herbs or medicinal plants—everything they have.”
After dismissing everyone a moment later, Cheon Hui stroked his chin and closed his eyes.
‘The spiritual pills are finished.’
Fortunately, with Sin Ui’s help, making the spiritual pills had gone smoothly.
Now only one thing remained.
A method to accelerate the growth of not just the third-generation disciples, but also the first-generation disciples and the Plum Blossom Sword Masters.
What would work best?
The most effective path was always to face death itself in combat.
The moment that thought arose, his days at the Tianma Divine Sect came flooding back.
Particularly, the deadly gates he’d had to pass through upon entering the sect.
Those had been merciless, certainly—yet his strength had grown rapidly.
Even now, the memory of that place was harsh.
Wait—hold on. That might actually work.
The gates weren’t dependent on Demonic Energy.
Cheon Hui’s eyes gleamed with sudden insight.
Entry into the Tianma Divine Sect required passing through them—ten gates of hellish training grounds.
The Ten Gates of Tianma itself.
Cheon Hui immediately began to scheme.
‘This isn’t something I can do alone.’
It was different from creating spiritual pills.
The Ten Gates of Tianma were vast and consisted of complex formation arrays.
This meant considerable manpower was needed, and he required experts in the arrays themselves.
He couldn’t ask the Tianma Divine Sect.
Cheon Hui half-opened his eyes as the thought took shape.
‘Then there’s only one place left.’

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